A Desperate Plea
by LPK9
Summary: Darth Vader receives a surprise pair of visitors one day with a shocking request. Original Trilogy AU. Set 17 years after the formation of the Empire.
1. Chapter 1

I don't own Star Wars in any way, shape, or form!

_Darth Vader's Private Chambers_

_Vader's Palace_

_Imperial City_

_Imperial Center_

_Early Evening_

Darth Vader, clad in his black armor, respirator hissing its endless repetition, strode out of his meditation chamber and into his stark and bleak office.

It had been, from a purely professional point of view, a productive four days on Imperial Center since he'd returned from unsuccessful Jedi hunting in the Mid Rim. He'd cleared a backlog of minor projects and written three reports to his master, who was on 'urgent business' on Naboo. The urgent business in question involved a great deal of expensive wine, gourmet food, and the joy of having multiple syncophants bowing and scraping before him on the Emperor's planet of origin. Vader was tasked with keeping Imperial City in order while his sovereign was gone, and he would, with excellence. As usual.

He'd also spent a full six hours in bacta this day. Not that bacta helped a great deal, but it helped a little. He was always in pain, sometimes more, sometimes less. At this particular moment, less.

The Sith strode over to the transparisteel window and gazed moodily at the metropolis that was Imperial City. With the sun setting, many tens of thousands of beings were scurrying here, hurrying there, rushing home from their jobs, or to work if they toiled through the night cycle. It made Imperial Center both bright and dark in the Force; bright with life, dark with purpose. As it should be. The reality of the galaxy was that the Dark Side was stronger. Those myriad people below all hoping for ... what? Purpose? Fame? Power? Love? They were doomed to disappointment. Best to realize that as soon as possible and submit to the reality of the galaxy, which was that Emperor Palpatine, also known to a few as Darth Sidious, reigned with absolute power and it was best to cooperate. Those who chose to submit had a reasonable chance of living some semblance of a comfortable life. Or not. Plenty of sentients suffered and died for reasons which had nothing to do with their own actions.

As it should be. He himself, one of the strongest Force users in the galaxy, had reached frantically for love and commitment and belonging and joy and fallen far short, doomed to spend the rest of his miserable existence locked away in dark armor, a slave to his master. Doomed to hate himself for what he had done to ...

But no, he would not think of her.

A beep interrupted his morbid thoughts. With an irritable tendril of the Force, he turned on the com.

"Yes?"

"Lord Vader," his major domo Klastin stated calmly. "Senator Leia Organa of Alderaan requests an audience with you."

The scarred face frowned beneath the mask. Senator Organa?

"For what purpose?" the Dark Voice rumbled.

"The Senator wishes to discuss the growing humanitarian crisis on Kothlis, Lord Vader, and the Empire's current policies there."

Vader frowned even harder. He was familiar with the issues on Kothlis: a plague, a partial quarantine, limited medication, and starvation. But he wasn't in charge of the Kothlis crisis. Nor did he remotely care about the Kothlis crisis. Why ...?

"The Senator is most insistent," his steward continued, his voice somewhat less calm.

This piqued the Sith's interest. Leia Organa was fiery and passionate and indeed insistent, but Klastin was entirely capable of warding off dozens of bureaucrats in his sleep. The man was born to be dismissive.

Furthermore, Bail and Breha Organa of Alderaan, the Senator's parents, were elbow deep in the burgeoning Rebellion. If Leia Organa was flustered and upset, she might well let something of import slip.

"Send her to my main audience chamber," Vader ordered.

"Yes, my Lord."

He took his time about descending two levels to the audience chamber where he hosted the all too frequent sycophant or arms manufacturer or minor member of the Core World nobility. He never enjoyed these meetings, but they had served his master. And after he lost Pa ...

No, he would not think of her. It was enough to know that all he had left was Palpatine.

Somewhat to his surprise, his guest had not yet arrived. He strode to the far wall and turned, just as he sensed the outer elevator open and two sentients exit.

That too, was odd. Klastin had spoken of Organa but had not mentioned a companion. The door slid open seconds later, and the familiar form of Leia Organa of Alderaan, clad in the flowing white robes of the heir of Alderaan, entered at the room. Behind and to her right strode a young man of roughly the same age as the princess, dressed in somber gray. An aide, no doubt, of so little importance that Klastin hadn't bothered to inform his master of his presence.

Vader shot the youth a cursory glance and then focused on the senator. He was reminded, for the 35th time, that she looked so much like ...

(No, he would not think of her.)

She was beautiful, Leia Organa. Radiant. Tiny. Fiery. Popular. She would be arrested and executed for crimes against the Empire, eventually, but not yet, not now. His master's orders.

"Princess Leia."

"Lord Vader."

He sensed, with the Force, her anxiety about this meeting, though her face was studiously calm. He had observed her more than once in the Senate chambers and during political functions. She always maintained an outward façade of control. It was impressive in one so young.

"You wish to speak to me of the crisis on Kothlis?" he rumbled softly. "I have no jurisdiction ..."

He stopped speaking because she was waving an irritable hand even as she shook her head.

"No, not Kothlis, Lord Vader," she replied, her face tight now. "I know you have little authority in that situation, and even less interest. No ..."

She turned now to her aide, who stepped forward and lifted his chin.

"I want to introduce you to ... to my friend, Lord Vader. This is, this is ..."

"Luke Skywalker, Lord Vader," the young man said, his voice determined. "I am the freeborn son of Anakin Skywalker and Padme Naberrie Skywalker. And according to my mother, there is a 76% chance that you are my father."

Darth Vader's heart beat on steadily, as it always did.

Thump thump thump thump thump thump.

Luke Skywalker.

Son of Anakin Skywalker and Padme Naberrie Skywalker.

_ His mother said ..._

Breathe in. Breathe out. Breathe in. Breathe out.

Vader stared at the young man in front of him, this boy with eyes like the skies of Tatooine and blond hair like that of the young Anakin Skywalker. And even as he stared, the youth's shields dropped and the powerful presence of a Force sensitive, a _strong _Force sensitive, bloomed into full glory.

He found himself shaking his head slowly, the great mask suddenly heavy on his head. It was impossible.

"She died," he muttered softly.

There was a sudden, violent maelstrom of emotion from the boy, mixed oddly with a parallel, though less intense, roil of passion from the girl at his side.

It was Leia Organa who spoke first, and her face wore none of its former calm.

"It's true, isn't it?" she whispered. "You were once Anakin Skywalker ..."

The boy chimed in now, "You think she died on Mustafar? No, she didn't. She lost consciousness after being choked, but Kenobi returned in time to take her to Polis Massa. She gave birth there and spent 9 years recovering from the accompanying medical crisis."

Darth Vader stilled completely now. This boy knew of Mustafar, knew of his attack on Padme. And he was saying that she lived, that she gave birth. That this youth was his son? His son. His wife. His Padme ... was, was alive? Could it be?

The young man stepped closer still, lifting his face to gaze fiercely into his masked eyes.

"You are my father, aren't you, Lord Vader?" he asked softly.

It seemed impossible, but the Force sang that it was the truth. His son lived. His wife lived. All that he had thought true for 17 years was a vicious lie. (Sidious had said that he had killed Padme in his anger. How had she survived? Where had she been all these years? Where was she now?)

"Yes," he rumbled slowly. "Yes, I was once Anakin Skywalker. I am indeed your father."

There was a surge of powerful emotion between the young people: confusion, amazement, hesitant ... hope?

The Sith continued anxiously now, "Where is your mother? Where is Padme?"

He had to see her! He had to touch her with his own hands, to know with his own (scarred) eyes that she was truly alive, that he had not committed that sin above all sins, the murder of his own wife and their unborn child.

Luke shook his head now, his forehead now furrowed with anxiety, "That's why we are here, Lord Vader. She disappeared six days ago and ... and ..."

The face now looked younger as fear resonated from the boy.

"I've been having dreams of her. Nightmares. Of Mother in pain. Something terrible has happened. We came here to see ... please, if you have any vestige of love left for my mother, please help us to find her."

_Author Note: This is alternate reality similar to the AU that I wrote about previously in the fanfics "Dalam Enterprises" and "Bespin Intervention." The circumstances are similar but not identical, and you don't need to have read the other 2 stories for this one to make sense. Also, many thanks to my wonderful editor, my husband!_


	2. Chapter 2

_Audience Chamber_

_Vader's Palace_

_Imperial City_

_Imperial Center_

_Early Evening_

"I've been having dreams of her. Nightmares. Of Mother in pain. Something terrible has happened. We came here to see ... please, if you have any vestige of love left for my mother, please help us to find her."

Darth Vader felt indignation now, and anger. How dare his son believe that he ...? But then cold, dark reality hit. What did the young Luke Skywalker know of his father? Darth Vader's last interaction with Padme had been one of violence and cruelty as he accused his beloved wife of betrayal, as he cut off the breath from her body in his fury.

The masked head dipped slightly, and the voice was soft, "I will love your mother until I die," and now he spoke more fiercely, "And I promise with all that I am that we will indeed find her."

Luke Skywalker's face lit up and a smile curled across it. Leia Organa's expression was grim, but he sensed less hostility from her. Odd that he could sense her at all in the Force given the brightness of his son. How did the two know each other? Those were questions for a later time. For now ...

"Tell me about your mother's last known location, my ... my son," he ordered.

Luke looked startled at these words, and a slight smile crossed his face.

"She was on Tatooine," Luke replied, "meeting with a supplier of bantha meat."

"Tatooine?" Vader demanded incredulously.

Luke's face grew dark, "Yes, I know that Anakin Skywalker ... that you grew up there, and you hate Tatooine. And I do too. I spent the first 9 years of my life there."

(Tatooine? His son? Why?!)

Now Luke was clearly upset, "I didn't want to go with her because I hate the sand and the heat and the_ sand_. I wish I'd been there when she was taken. Maybe I could have protected her."

His distress was clear through the Force, and Vader felt an entirely unaccustomed urge to comfort him. But he was too old, and too Sithly, and too awkward to do so. In any case, the Alderaanian princess had moved quickly and she had wrapped her arms around the youth.

"Luke," the princess said compassionately, "we don't know what happened to her. Whoever has her might have snatched you as well. At least you're having dreams so we have some knowledge of who might have her and where."

"Tell Vader what you've seen," she continued with more urgency.

Luke shut his eyes and bit his lip, "I've seen her in ... in a small room. I think a prison cell, with a high ceiling and smooth gray walls. There is a man dressed in a black uniform holding ... holding I think a shock stick. He keeps hitting her with it and she convulses ..."

He trailed away and there were tears in his eyes now, but he managed to continue, "I've also seen a black droid. It hovers in the air and it's spherical. I think they are injecting her with drugs because there is a needle. She's in pain, she's in pain!"

Tears were tracking down his face now and Vader felt his (damaged) heart clench. A black uniformed official and an Imperial interrogation droid meant the Empire had his wife. Somewhere.

He strode rapidly to a nearby terminal and barked, "Does she use the name Padme Naberrie?"

Surely she wasn't using Skywalker. That would have been far too risky in the current galactic environment.

There was a brief hesitation and he turned his head in time to see the two young people exchange glances.

"I need to know," he continued loudly, keeping his temper with difficulty. Pressuring his son unduly would be counter-productive, but he _needed _this information.

"She probably didn't go by her name on the Tatooine mission," Luke said carefully. "I know it was supposed to be an undercover meeting, and she always uses an alias. Her 'real' name, so to speak, is Padme Dalam."

His gauntleted hand dropped. Dalam. An odd name, and it jostled a stray memory loose, "Dalam. Dalam Enterprises is a trading and supply company, is it not? In the Far Outer Rim?"

Leia responded now, "Yes, it is. Padme Dalam, formerly Padme Skywalker, is the head of Dalam Enterprises."

The breath in his lungs wanted to catch, but it couldn't. The respirator continued to do its job.

Breathe in, breathe out.

Why would the Empire take her? For what purpose? Had someone discovered her true identity? Palpatine? Tarkin? Or was Padme's arrest something to do with Dalam Enterprises itself?

He turned now to face his son, who was gazing at him hopefully, "Is Dalam Enterprises a front for the Rebel Alliance?"

The youth looked surprised even as he shook his head, "No. Mom ... Mom has always been careful to keep her head down because of me, because I'm the son of a ... a former Jedi, I guess you'd say. It's truly a trading and supply company. Now admittedly the company deals with a lot of people ..."

"Rebels?" Vader demanded. He had to know.

"I ... I don't think so," Luke said, his honesty throbbing through the Force. "But I don't absolutely know for sure. Mom is the brains behind the operation. I'm a great pilot and a decent mechanic but she handles all upper level planning and logistics."

The boy frowned now, "Why? Do you think that she's in Imperial custody."

"Yes," Vader replied after a moment. "Your visions correlate with standard Imperial interrogation techniques."

Both young people paled and Leia brought her hand up over her mouth.

"Can you get her out? Please?" Luke pleaded.

"If I can find her, I will track her down and destroy every individual who dared so much as lay a finger on her," Vader snapped back. "But I don't know where she is."

He turned and rapidly entered Padme, Padme Dalam, Padme Naberrie, and Padme Skywalker into the system, though he was careful to use cloaking methods so that his search would go unnoticed by his master.

Nothing turned up.

"We need more information," he said. There was terror in his heart now. Padme was strong and brave, but she wasn't immortal. If her captors grew weary, or if she did give up information and they decided she was no longer worth keeping alive ...

He could not lose her again.

"I have an idea," his son said quickly.

The Sith turned expectantly and waited.

"I keep having dreams of Mom, but only of her in her cell. If I go to sleep, maybe you could bond with me and follow me into the dream, to Mother. Maybe you could nudge the dream so you have more information about planet and specific locale? Do you think that could work?"

Vader stared at his son incredulously. This was a ridiculous proposal. No one could do what his son was suggesting. Where had he gotten such an idea?

"What you are suggesting is not viable, Luke."

Now the young face was bewildered.

"Why? I know we haven't met before but you are my father, so we have to have a Force bond of some kind. And Mother says you are the strongest Force user of your generation. It doesn't seem like it would be impossible for you. She told me you used to have ... dreams, like this."

Vader found himself shaking his head, "I had dreams, yes. Visions that were true, of my ... my loved ones in pain. But to bond to you, to see your dream, is implausible. No one has ever done such a thing."

Luke and Organa exchanged a long glance and then Luke looked back at his father.

"Leia and I have done it, and recently. She saw my vision of Mother last night. But she wasn't able to alter the dream except to provide comfort to me."

The Dark Lord of the Sith turned his startled attention on Leia Organa, who had, he observed, reached out and clasped Luke's left hand in her right hand.

Absently, without thinking through it, he reached out in the Force to probe the woman. And found himself stopped by Force shields like durasteel: tight, complex, layered,_ incredibly_ strong.

He took a step forward, his hand drifting to his lightsaber, "Jedi!"

She looked startled and Luke spoke quickly, "No, she's not a Jedi. Neither am I. But Leia does shield incredibly well. Naturally well. In fact ..."

His son looked at the girl now, who was standing tall, her head, with its regal crown of braids, thrown back, her gaze boring into the Sith's dark mask.

"In fact, we think Leia was probably shielding in the womb, which is why no one realized Mother was carrying twins."

Darth Vader's heart beat on steadily, as it always did.

Thump thump thump thump thump thump.

Leia Organa.

So much in appearance like Padme Naberrie Skywalker. Vibrant. Strong. A political powerhouse.

_ Twins ..._

Breathe in. Breathe out. Breathe in. Breathe out.

"Moons of Iago," he said softly.

"I realize this is a shock," the princess stated softly.

"A shock," he repeated rather numbly, then, more angrily, "A shock! Yes, Princess Leia Organa, it is indeed a shock to learn that my wife is alive, as are my twin children. For 17 years you were hidden away, stolen from me ..."

Luke was shaking his head now, his eyes narrowed, "The Empire in general, and you in particular, have hunted down and destroyed the Jedi. Identified Force Sensitives have been killed or disappeared, never to be seen again. We didn't know you were our father. Mother ... Mother thought it likely, but even she hesitated to approach you for fear that she was wrong. And bluntly, she wasn't sure you'd care even if she was right."

This hurt. He loved Padme. He always would. And his child, his children!

("This is a happy moment," the young Anakin Skywalker had said, "the happiest moment of my life.")

He had loved his progeny from the moment he knew that Padme was pregnant.

The next memory was darker.

("Master Skywalker, there are too many of them? What are we going to do?")

He had murdered them by the dozens, the younglings of the Jedi Temple. Could he blame his wife and children for staying far away, unsure as they were of his identity and his commitment to them?

"Why did you come, then?" he demanded.

Leia shook her head wearily, "Mother is in terrible trouble. We decided to risk it."

His heart clenched within him. They truly had no reason to trust him, no reason at all. But their mother, _Padme_, was in danger, and her children would jeopardize their own safety and freedom in a frantic and dangerous attempt to help her.

(The twins must have had received some training, from someone. Because both shielded with skill. But from whom? Surely not ... not Kenobi, who had always adhered tightly to the Jedi Code against attachment. For attached the children were, to their beautiful, brave, vulnerable mother.)

He shook his head again. He had questions, many of them. And his shriveled, frozen heart felt an unaccustomed surge of hope and longing and bewilderment because his wife and his twin children were alive but Padme was running out of time so yes, they would try Luke's crazy plan.

"Come," he said, gesturing toward the elevator. "I will find you a place to sleep. We will find your mother."

_Author Note: Thank you for the kind reviews and follows and favorites. It is very encouraging!_


	3. Chapter 3

_Random Apartment_

_Darth Vader's Palace_

_Imperial City_

_Imperial Center_

_30 minutes later_

Luke lay down on the bed in a random sleeping room in a random guest apartment in a random corner of Darth Vader's palace. The Sith had never been in the apartment before, and its accouterments were something of a surprise. He had little need for guest facilities because his only 'guests' were prisoners in the cells beneath his palace. He certainly never had guests who were friends, since he had no friends. Presumably this apartment had been in the original blueprints of the palace and had been provided with random furniture under the direction of one of his efficient staff members.

At any rate, Vader was glad it existed. Luke probably would have a harder time falling asleep on a hard floor in his office. The Dark Lord turned the lights down with the Force and turned to go, just as Luke called out softly, "Thanks for helping us, Father."

He stilled at these words, first at the joy of being called father, of _being_ a father, secondly for the true gratitude in his son's voice.

"It is my honor, my son," he rumbled back, and left the room, letting the door slide behind him.

Leia Organa was in the main living area, staring moodily into the murky depths of some hot drink. She looked up as he stepped into the room and her body tensed. He could feel her anxiety and worry, no doubt accentuated by the physical distance from her twin.

Vader was careful to give her space; there was no reason to frighten his daughter any more than necessary, and possibly she would provide more information if she felt safe.

Though probably not. She looked like Padme in many ways, but he knew from both his previous observation and their current interactions that she was stronger willed and more fiery. She was also cautious and intelligent. She would stay strong in the face of pressure of any kind. And he had no intention of pressuring her anyway.

"How long do you believe it will take for Luke to fall asleep?" he asked, more to break the silence than anything else.

She shook her head, "Not long. He's not slept well for days because of the nightmares, and he'll probably fall asleep within 15 minutes. Though we're in a strange place ..."

She trailed away and looked out the window, which faced the Emperor's Palace. Her face quivered slightly and he felt a surge of fear, quickly suppressed.

"How long ...," he began, then continued determinedly, "how long have you known your mother and Luke?"

She glanced toward Luke's room and sighed even as she sat down on a bland, black chair, "Four years. Mother was unwell for nine years after our birth. She found Luke on Tatooine when she had recovered. She was living with Owen and Beru Lars, your stepbrother and his wife, I believe?"

He stared at her dumbly. To think that for years, his precious boy had been living on that blasted sand trap.

"I've not met the Lars," Leia said somewhat absently. "Luke says they were very kind and loved him, but he hated Tatooine and of course he wanted to be with Mother. She took him to Siskeen and started Dalam Enterprises, partially to assist the Naberrie family on Naboo as some of them were struggling financially. She's a logistics genius, but you probably know that. She was searching for me but it wasn't easy, mostly because she didn't think that I'd be hiding in 'plain sight' so to speak. She was hunting around on the Outer Rim and said she'd almost despaired when she came across one of my early speeches on the holonet. She said the instant she saw and heard me, she knew I was her daughter. And then it made sense. Mother was a close associate with my father Bail during their time in the Imperial Senate. We don't know what happened when we were born, but presumably Kenobi split us up for safety."

There was a slight rattle in the room at Kenobi's name, and a flash of fear crossed the princess's face, even as Luke's consciousness next door bloomed to full strength.

Vader forced down his anger with difficulty; it had been a very long time since he'd been in the presence of another being who was Force Sensitive, Light, and worthy of the Dark Lord's concern. Luke clearly sensed his father's emotions with ease, and Vader kept forgetting to shield his darker feelings.

In spite of the Sith's need to stay calm, he couldn't help but ask his daughter, "Do you know where Kenobi is?"

She frowned and shook her head, "No. I've never met him and neither has Luke. And while Bail and Breha have met Padme a few times since Mother found me, they've never said anything about Kenobi."

Vader relaxed. He wanted to know where the old man was, definitely. He wanted, no, needed revenge against the man who had left him to burn in Mustafar's fire. But more importantly, he sensed the truth of his daughter's words. Whoever had taught the twins to shield, it was not Kenobi.

Luke had relaxed back into semi-consciousness. Vader strode over to the window which faced the palace and gazed at the sun which was disappearing into the haze that obscured the horizon of Imperial City.

Two minutes passed in silence and then Leia spoke suddenly, "Luke's asleep now."

Vader turned quickly and took a step toward the bedroom, then stopped as Leia lifted one small hand to stop him.

"Listen to me, carefully," she ordered sternly. "Luke is very sensitive. He's also more ... more open than I am to the emotional side of the Force. If you walk into his mind and lose your temper, you will hurt him, maybe permanently. I've seen the vision of Mother suffering and it distresses me, and it will likely distress you as well. You must maintain control. Is that clear?"

He was torn between a desire to laugh incredulously at his daughter's bold words, and awe at how much Leia looked like _her._ Padme had taken him to task more than once, with exactly that expression on her face ...

"I will be most careful," he assured the princess. "I pledge to you that I will not harm your brother."

She stared at him for a moment longer, then gestured toward the door.

"Let's go. Let's find Mother."

Two minutes later, it was Darth Vader who wondered if he would survive this encounter. His son had clearly been partially shielding his presence since they met; now that Vader deliberately entered into his son's mind, the Light was so blinding that the Sith felt an almost overwhelming need to retreat. It was like watching a sun go supernova to be in the presence of one so bright.

He calmed himself forcefully, pushed closer, questing to enter his son's sleeping mind. To his astonishment, he felt his daughter's presence touch him gently. She clearly had significant experience with Luke's mindscape, because she pulled him out of the vibrant light into a corridor which led to ...

The cell was indeed an Imperial one, and his precious wife stood against one wall, her manacled arms dangling from the ceiling. The Imperial, with his face icy with disdain and determination, faced her, shock prod stretched out ...

And now Padme was convulsing, her screams tearing at his heart.

Luke's Force presence roiled with distress and horror now, and Vader had some difficulty not being thrown out by the boy's heartache. Again, Leia came to his rescue. Her soft presence joined father and son in the Force, and Vader managed to hang on. A moment later, as the interrogation droid approached his wife with its needle extended, the Sith forcibly turned the vision around to face the wall of the cell.

The cell appeared to be on an Imperial Star Destroyer, and he was all too familiar with the layout of the cell blocks. Forcing himself to ignore his wife's cries, he pulled Luke's consciousness through the wall of the cell block, into and out of the work corridors adjacent to the outer hull, and then abruptly, into space.

For a moment, all three members of the family gazed in awe at the sight. A planet hovered below them and multiple Star Destroyers floated within visual range. Vader focused on the planet intently. It was a mostly an ocean planet, and warm enough that the water was liquid. There were many islands crisscrossing its surface.

A moment later, something appeared in orbit at the far outer edge of the planet. Something large and spherical ...

Vader grasped both his son and daughter's consciousnesses and gently pulled them out of their sleep state.

Luke sat up quickly in his bed, his eyes wide, "Did you see that? Do you know which planet it is?"

"I do indeed," Vader stated firmly. "We will depart within the hour to rescue your mother."

"_Stay strong, Padme,"_ he thought. "_Stay strong."_

/-

_Cell 345_

_Detention Block AA4_

_Imperial Detention Facility_

_Star Destroyer _Sovereign

_ In orbit around Scarif _

_2 days later_

The door of Padme's cell slid open. She wearily straightened her body, the chains holding her upright clanking in the process. The former Queen of Naboo maintained a stoic façade as her least favorite interrogator stepped through the cell door, his torture droid floating daintily behind him.

The anonymous Imperial was her least favorite because while being tortured was always supremely unpleasant, at least the other two interrogators were showing minor signs of strain. She had not said a single word since she'd been betrayed by her bantha supplier on Tatooine and whisked off to this floating death trap of a Star Destroyer. Thankfully, the supplier in question had thought her a low level operative of Dalam Enterprises, and clearly had no idea that she was the head of the company. Based on their questions, it appeared that that snake Palpatine wanted to snatch control of her company so that it could supply the Imperial War Machine. Her tormentors asked about the structure of Dalam Enterprises, where it was based, and myriad other queries.

And she hadn't said a single word.

She had screamed, of course, as they prodded her with shock probes, as their interrogation droid injected her with mind altering chemicals. She had endured visions of horror, including multiple iterations of Anakin's attack on Mustafar.

But she had said nothing, and she wouldn't. She knew they considered her a random drone of Dalam, and she would die a drone, with her children's names buried inside her heart. For them.

Because she loved Luke, and she loved Leia, with a fierce, protective passion that overcame the agony and the verbal abuse and the psychological games. These Imperial interrogators were well trained, vicious, determined. But she was more determined. She would die when she died, and she would endure pain until her body gave out or they disposed of her. And her children would be left without her in a harsh galaxy.

It made her sad, of course, but right now, as the torture droid floated forward, its needle extended, she braced herself. She would need all her mental strength ...

There was a sudden quiver of air and the torture droid lurched suddenly to one side, as if affected by something beyond her sight and hearing. She straightened more, tilted her head, focused. There was a sound approaching her cell.

Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.

Heavy steps.

The interrogator and his three companion grunts turned away from her, their bodies uneasy.

"What is that?" the interrogator demanded in bewilderment.

The door to Padme's cell slid open and now she could hear the distant sound of a respirator ...

Breathe in. Breathe out. Breathe in. Breathe out.

For the first time since her capture, Padme Naberrie Skywalker Amidala Dalam spoke, her voice raspy from screaming, her mind a mixture of incredulity, dismay, and a thin sliver of hope.

"Gentlemen, I believe you are about to meet my husband."

The interrogator's eyes widened and he laughed aloud, "Your husband? Most unlikely. But if so, perhaps we can persuade you to talk by using him ..."

The man broke off as the doorway darkened and Darth Vader, Dark Lord of the Sith, strode like a black angel of death into the cell and halted. For two seconds, he froze in overwhelmed joy. She was there, his precious Padme, her arms held up by chains, her face bruised, her body clearly exhausted. But she was still alive. And around her ...

He reached out through the Force and the interrogation droid sparked even as it was thrown into the wall.

"Lord Vader!" the interrogator began, just as the talons closed around his neck and his hand reached to his throat.

Padme cried out now, and Luke, almost obscured behind his father, spoke through the Force, "_Please, no strangling. It reminds her ..."_

Vader cursed himself even as he released his hold on the man's neck and hurled him bodily into the wall. A moment later, the three other men joined the first, their bodies thudding against the wall. All four men fell to the floor and lay silent, their bodies twisted at odd angles.

Padme's eyes were wide as Luke and Leia rushed forward, armed with blasters. There were two quick blasts and the chains parted. Surprise, and pain, and exhaustion, and bewilderment, caused her knees to weaken and she would have fallen if her children hadn't caught her.

"Luke, Le-Leia," she breathed aloud, her voice stuttering.

"We're here, Mom," Luke assured her. "Hang on, we're going to get you out."

"Luke, Leia," she repeated softly, then turned her gaze on the giant cyborg staring at her, "Anakin?"

Darth Vader's heart clenched at his former name on her lips, even as he stepped forward to reach for her. She didn't flinch, her eyes confused but her face calm. He picked her up, her body so very light, even as Leia spoke softly, "She's exhausted and starved, Lord Vader. We need to get her out of here and to a med bay."

"Mom, I'm giving you a shot of clotina," Luke said, even as Padme felt a prick on her neck. "It'll reduce the pain and stabilize you until we get you to full medical care."

The relief from pain was immediate, and she smiled and spoke again, "Luke, Leia, Anakin ..."

A moment later, Darth Vader, with his twins at his back, strode out of the cell and down the corridor with his wife held gently in his arms. The Sith's mind was a maelstrom of emotion ranging from incredible relief to awe to absolute fury at the treatment of his Padme. The fury expressed itself through murderous rage at the Imperials in sight; those who had survived his lightsaber on the way in, died from a broken neck on the way out. He stepped into the elevator with his twins right behind him. As the elevator rose toward the hanger bay where Vader's shuttle waited, Leia carefully held a bottle of water to Padme's lips, which she sucked greedily.

"I can't believe," the former Queen of Naboo said softly, "I can't believe ..."

"Don't speak, Padme," Vader said urgently. "Just rest. We'll have you treated by a doctor as soon as we reach my shuttle."

Regrettably, the situation proved more complicated than desirable. The foursome strode quickly into the bay holding Vader's shuttle, only to find an uneasy standoff in progress. Captain Piett and four stormtroopers stood flanking the ramp of Vader's shuttle. None had their blasters at the ready, but were clearly tense.

In front of Vader's men were ten stormtroopers, a random lieutenant, and the desiccated form of Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin. The older man's eyes were narrowed and he was emanating suppressed rage through the Force.

"Lord Vader," he began, "what is the meaning of this outrageous incursion onto my ship. How dare you storm your way into my prison cells and extract a prisoner without informing me ..."

The old man was nearly spitting with rage, his eyes blazing, even as Vader tuned him out. He could kill Tarkin easily, and he wanted to, slowly and unpleasantly. But while he could attack the hostile forces and destroy them, his children and Padme would be at least briefly under fire. He could not bear to lose any of them.

"_Let me take Mother_," Luke said telepathically, stepping forward to take Padme into his own wiry but surprisingly strong arms.

"_Go ahead and take care of the troopers,_" Leia chimed in, also in his mind. "_Luke and I can both deflect blaster bolts as long as there aren't too many of them."_

(Deflect blaster bolts? Again, who had trained his twins?)

But that was for later. The Sith quickly lit his lightsaber and stormed forward, intent on getting his wife on board his ship as quickly as possible. Even as he cut down the first three troopers, he noted the look of shock on Tarkin's face first at his actions, then at being hit with a stun bolt by his daughter's blaster.

"_He'll be a useful hostage!"_ she pointed out silently.

The hapless troopers were so bewildered at being attacked by an enraged Sith Lord that they died very quickly. Within 30 seconds, the floor was covered with corpses.

"Take Tarkin on board," Vader ordered his men, even as he strode over to take Padme back. He wanted to hold her, he wanted to see with his own eyes that she was still breathing. He could not bear it if she lost her grip on life even as his mother had on Tatooine ...

No, he would not think of Shmi Skywalker. Not now. Padme was here, she was alive, and she would be cared for by the best med droids in the Fleet. She would survive.

He clung to these thoughts as he raced on board, followed by Luke and Leia. His four troopers, carrying an unconscious Governor Tarkin, followed him, as did Piett. The medical doctor on board, Doctor Lenz Sert, was waiting eagerly for his patient. As soon as Padme was carefully deposited on the bed waiting for her, he began diligently scanning her for injuries.

Darth Vader wanted to hover over his wife, but it was critical that his shuttle leave the _Sovereign _and return to the_ Devastator _before Tarkin's second in command realized that Tarkin had been essentially abducted. The man in question, Captain Ozzel, was an idiot, but the actions of idiots were sometimes hard to predict.

With a glance at his children, who had seated themselves near their mother, Vader strode to the cockpit and sat down on the pilot's seat.

Within seconds, the shuttle was lifting off the deck to the safety of his own Star Destroyer. Much to his relief, there was no open hostility from the command crew of the _Sovereign;_ Ozzel was probably too stupid to figure out what had happened for some time. As it was, Vader merely provided the appropriate command codes and his shuttle was permitted to make its way to the _Devastator _unmolested.

Leia entered the cabin just as Vader brought the ship down on the hanger floor.

"She's stable," the girl said, her eyes shining with unshed tears.

Author Note: _Thanks again for those of you following. I am not sure how long this story will be. Once we get Padme up and running, it'll be somewhat similar to _Dalam Enterprises_ in that she'll be tearing around the galaxy fixing things and causing problems for Palpatine. So I may just do a few chapters more. We'll see. Some of you remember that I predicted A Peculiar Dream would be 12 chapters and it ended up at 52 chapters!_


	4. Chapter 4

_Devastator_

_In Orbit Around Scarif_

Padme Naberrie Skywalker Dalam was comfortable. She was lying down on something comfortable ... what bliss, after too much time either dangling from the ceiling by chains or lying in agony on a hard metallic bench in her cell. The meds were ... were ... she was so tired. What was she just thinking? She was confused.

But very comfortable.

Above her, the light gray ceiling flew along, interrupted periodically by lights. To her right, hovering in mid air, was a bag of some fluid which dripped meds into her veins.

Voices periodically broke through her (almost) pain free fog of contentment.

"Heart rate stable, blood pressure improving."

"Severely dehydrated."

"Increase drip rate."

"Hang on, Mom. We'll be to the med bay soon."

Mom?

She squinted now, her brain moving sluggishly, her eyes slowing tracking to the young man holding her ... holding her hand, that was right. He looked like, like ...

"Ani?" she mumbled softly.

A brief look of confusion and then the youth shook his head with a smile.

"It's me, Mom. It's Luke. You're safe."

"Luke," she breathed, and returned his smile. "My son. My grown up son. I'm so proud of you. And alive and strong. I had a dream that you were a baby and didn't have any arms or legs ..."

This elicited a very strange look on his face, but she didn't know why.

There were tears in Luke's eyes now.

"Just rest, Mom. We've got you."

Padme nodded the tiniest bit, closed her eyes, and fell asleep.

/-

_ Darth Vader's private office_

_ The Devastator_

Darth Vader was overjoyed and enraged.

Overjoyed because Padme was alive and she was stable and she was here on his ship. She. Was. Alive. All he had thought for 17 years was false. One room over, she lay on a medical cot with doctors and med droids swarming around her and she was growing stronger and Sert was certain she would survive.

She was alive.

Enraged because he wanted to kill Palpatine. No, he wanted to take the man and truss him up and torture him for days and remove his digits one by one and eviscerate him and then finally kill the man.

No, he wanted to hunt through the galaxy for everything that Palpatine valued, and destroy it, and then capture the man and cut Sidious into tiny pieces with a lightsaber.

He struggled to find words for his rage and finally came up with Huttese ones, for Huttese was a language which easily lent it itself to vindictive speech. For two full minutes, he spoke angrily into the silent air of his main office. That loathsome, disgusting, vile, rancorous, manipulative ...

Palpatine had lied to him. He had told the agonized, severely burned Darth Vader that Padme had died at his hands. And it had all been vicious, cruel, deceit. Darth Vader, Dark Lord of the Sith, had missed all those years with his wife and precious children. He had never seen Luke and Leia as infants, as babies learning to walk, he had missed Luke's first time in the cockpit, Leia's first time giving a speech.

He had missed it all, thanks to Darth Sidious.

Darth Vader was enraged.

/-

_ Padme's medical room_

_Adjacent to Vader's Office_

_Devastator_

Luke Skywalker was mostly relieved and slightly unnerved.

Padme was resting peacefully, her eyes closed, her emaciated frame covered with multiple warmed blankets. Doctor Sert hovered carefully over her, checking vital signs, adjusting meds as needed.

Three IV bags were pouring nutrients and required meds into Padme's body, and her son could sense, through the Force, her energy returning though her consciousness lay dormant, in comfortable slumber.

He was incredibly thankful that Mother was doing well, though the weird dream about him being a baby with no arms and legs was unsettling. Maybe she was confusing him, again, with his father? Luke had surreptitiously studied his father's form, and had concluded that all his limbs were artificial.

And drugs did do weird things to mental processes, he knew that. She didn't have to make sense right now.

For a brief moment, Luke focused on the Dark Vortex that was his father. Darth Vader had carefully escorted Padme into this room next to his own quarters, and then retreated to the office next door. He knew his father was overjoyed to have recovered Padme, but Vader was also furious, Luke could tell – not at him, or Padme, or at Leia, but ... Luke didn't know, the galaxy?

Dealing with the Sith would prove a challenge, father or not. Thankfully, Luke thought wryly, Vader _was_ their father. If Mother had been wrong, if Vader had been a brutal, unrelated, psychotic Sith who hated all children of Jedi, he would have been in tremendous trouble. Mother would probably yell at both twins when she was sufficiently recovered for making such a risky move to rescue her.

Luke Skywalker would never regret it. He loved his mother dearly. He would not kill senselessly for her, but he was willing to die senselessly to save her.

"The no attachment rules of the Order were idiocy," Ahsoka Tano had told him with a mixture of sorrow and anger. "Emotional attachment is healthy. If Anakin and Padme hadn't been committed to me, attached to me, I'd have been wrongly convicted of murder and executed in disgrace."

Luke was very relieved.

/-

_Admiral Ozzel's private quarters_

_Sovereign_

_In orbit around Scarif_

Admiral Kendal Ozzel was delighted.

"I regret Governor Tarkin's injuries exceedingly," he stated insincerely. "I will send a shuttle over to _Devastator_ with his personal droid and any necessary baggage, and if there are any other personnel or items he requires, inform me immediately."

"As you wish, sir," Captain Piett replied over the holoscreen, his face stoic. "The governor is resting comfortably, but it will be some time before he can return to the _Sovereign._"

Ozzel suppressed a pleased smirk, "We look forward to his return. As for the assassins that Lord Vader dispatched in the shuttle bay, we are analyzing their possessions and coms to determine whether there are any other traitors on board the _Sovereign."_

"I will report that to Lord Vader," Piett replied after a moment of hesitation. "My understanding is that Lord Vader killed all the guards after one attempted to assassinate the governor. It is not entirely certain that all were involved in the assassination plot."

"I understand, Piett," Ozzel replied, and turned off the holocam.

In the safety of his quarters, he allowed a wide smile to fill his face. An unknown period of time where he was the acting commander of the fleet around Scarif?

Admiral Kendal Ozzel was delighted.

/

_Padme Naberrie Skywalker Dalam's med bay_

_Devastator_

Doctor Lenz Sert was cautiously optimistic. He had been quite concerned when his patient had been brought on board Vader's shuttle. He had treated interrogated prisoners before, and few had been pushed as hard as this woman. She was starved, her body was full of interrogation drugs, she had burns from shock wands, and she was dangerously dehydrated.

But on board the shuttle, the two young people who called her mother had helped stabilize her condition. They talked to her, held her hand while Sert did his work, adored her. He had seen before how well patients responded to their loved ones, and he was not certain she would have steadied so rapidly if they had not been there.

Were they really this woman's children? Or was "Mom" some kind of honorary title? The girl had left to rest, while the boy stayed on a chair at his mother's side, holding her hand, protecting and loving her.

And how did Darth Vader fit into all this? He had ordered Sert's patient to be installed in a room of his own private quarters, and kept making periodic passes into the room to check on her. The doctor could tell, from the rigid set of his superior's body, that the woman was important to him in some fashion. But was Vader's interest positive or negative?

Lenz Sert glanced at the latest numbers from the mysterious woman's bloodwork and nodded with approval. The interrogation drug levels were significantly down, and the dehydration was much improved.

The physician sighed. He was a lowly doctor, even if he had been chosen by Darth Vader himself as the Dark Lord's personal human physician – not that that meant much – the Sith preferred med droids the majority of the time. He could not protect this woman, or her children. But he could do his job, which was to bring health and wholeness to his patient.

/

_Cell 3185_

_Detention Block C23_

_Devastator_

Governor Wilhuff Tarkin was irritated but patient.

He had known Palpatine for many years, but the man still surprised him on occasion. This particular surprise was supremely unwelcome, but not entirely unexpected given the power of the Death Star and that the space station was approaching full operational status.

Tarkin was completely loyal to the Emperor. But the Grand Moff had enemies, of course, and no doubt one or more pompous sycophants had whispered words of warning into Palpatine's ear that his Tarkin was growing too powerful. So his Master had sent his pet rancor to deliver a sharp warning. Being arrested was humiliating, but Tarkin had been humiliated before. When he was removed from this dank cell, he would no doubt be required to bow before Palpatine either in person or by hologram. He would assure his Master of his loyalty, and his Master would trust him again. That was one of the benefits of serving a Force powerful master – Palpatine knew what he was thinking better than he did himself at times.

He sighed and relaxed back against the wall of his cell. Vader was, at least, entirely predictable. He was the blunt instrument of Palpatine, and while intelligent enough, never acted directly contrary to his Master's commands. Tarkin knew the Dark Lord resented him, but he also knew he was a vital member of Palpatine's government. Tarkin was safe enough.

He waited, patiently.

/-

_Leia Organa's sleeping quarters_

_Devastator_

Leia Organa was grateful and anxious.

Enormously grateful because her mother lived and her father as well, not just in body but in soul. That had been a huge question in her own mind. Was Darth Vader truly the man once known as Anakin Skywalker? And even if he was, was there any vestige remaining of the man who had married the young Padme on a terrace on Varykino?

Varykino. She'd only managed to visit once. It was beautiful. Peaceful. Padme and Luke had introduced her to her Naberrie relatives, who had drawn her joyfully into their collective embrace before she crept back to the capital for the dreary meeting which had been Leia's excuse for visiting Naboo.

It was clear that yes, Darth Vader loved Padme dearly. He had moved with stunning speed to rescue her.

Leia was grateful.

The princess of Alderaan glanced doubtfully at her sleeping cot. She really should get some sleep after an exhausting few days. Luke was taking the first shift with their mother and Leia would relieve him in four hours. One of the twins would be with their mother constantly until Padme had regained consciousness and they could analyze her emotional state. But no, Leia thought with a sigh, there was no point in lying down right now because she could not sleep.

Because Leia was also anxious. Her parents (and for all that she loved Padme, Breha Organa would always be her true mother, Bail her true father) were probably worried about her now. There had been neither time nor inclination to consult them when Luke had burst into her senatorial chambers less than three days ago with news of Padme's disappearance and his own agonizing dreams. She knew they would have loudly and determinedly opposed her decision to approach Vader. They didn't know Vader had once been Anakin Skywalker, and indeed had argued vigorously against it.

But while she appreciated and venerated the Organas, the reality was that Padme had been married to Anakin Skywalker, Padme knew his gestures and his 'tells', and Padme had been quite certain that the lovelorn young man who had adored her was now the 2 meter cyborg locked away in life support.

She had risked her secret identity as Anakin's daughter, and quite possibly her life and liberty, when she had approached the Dark Lord of the Sith in his palace on Imperial City.

She had wondered, if Vader had turned on Luke, if she would be able to kill the man. She would have attacked the Sith if he had threatened her precious twin, but he was the greatest Force user of his generation, greater in power than Palpatine himself. On the other hand, Tano had taught her to shield well, and it was possible Leia could creep up on Vader and kill him if he was focused on Luke. And she would have had no hesitation if Vader had proven a threat. But no, Darth Vader, formerly Anakin Skywalker, truly loved his wife and his children. It was astounding.

Leia sighed again and looked again at the bed. Perhaps she could indeed sleep for at least a few hours ...

A last glance out the transparisteel window caused a shock of disbelief and horror to rush through her body. What ... what was ... that?

_"Lord Vader?"_ she called through the Force, her spirit tremulous.

The response was gratifyingly swift, "_Yes, my daughter?"_

The great locus of power that was her biological father quivered with powerful emotions, but his tone was gentle with her.

"_What is that enormous thing that just came into sight over the horizon of Scarif?"_ she asked rather plaintively.

A pause.

"_That_," the Dark Voice replied softly, _"is the Death Star."_

/

_Author Note: Thanks so much for the kind reviews and followed and favorites. Thanks also to the wonderful editor, my husband! Dr. Lenz Sert is an OC of mine, so you won't find him in Wookieepedia anywhere _... yet!


	5. Chapter 5

_Padme's med bay_

_Devastator_

_8 hours later_

With difficulty, Darth Vader focused on the holopad in his hands. It contained files of information about the Death Star, and he needed to study the battle stations schematics. He _wanted_ to gaze at Padme as she slept peacefully on her bed, but the Death Star was a problem that could not be ignored.

His loyalty, his devotion, his submission to Palpatine were at an end. His wife and children were now his primary concern. But his secondary desire, no, _need_, was to destroy everything he could of Sidious's Empire before he took the life of the man himself.

And the Death Star was Palpatine's pet project. It had to go, both because it's loss would enrage Palpatine and because it was a danger to any planet where he and his family might settle. Regrettably, the available data was insufficient to show how the Death Star could be best destroyed. The battle station was enormous and even though it was not quite completed_, Devastator_ was certainly not capable of bringing about its destruction with even an extensive barrage. Furthermore, several Star Destroyers controlled the Shield Gate and the planetary defense shield; certainly if Vader openly moved in a hostile manner toward Imperial Forces, even someone as foolish as Ozzel would take notice.

Briefly, Vader stretched out carefully along the bond with his master. The Emperor had not contacted him in more than a week; no particular surprise there, as his former master frequently ignored him for weeks when pleasantly occupied. And Naboo was beautiful, and her current queen too wise to be anything but outwardly adoring of the former senator of Naboo who now ruled the galaxy.

Vader frowned, causing a flash of pain across his scarred face. His former master was indeed rather a gluttonous soul for all his outward appearance of asceticism. The man always had the best of everything: food, art, jewels, palaces ...

"Anakin?" a voice said from below him.

He dropped the datapad and turned his gaze on his wife, whose eyes were open now, her stare fixed on his great mask.

"Anakin?"

Did she truly know who he was? Or was she hallucinating from drugs and pain?

She reached out her hand and grasped his right one, the one he'd lost to Count Dooku so long ago.

"Anakin?"

"Yes, Padme?" he replied gently, awkwardly.

She smiled at him, "You're here."

"I'm here, Padme," he assured her. "You're safe."

She nodded just a little, her eyes scanning his black mask, "I know."

Vader glanced around quickly. The twins were taking turns being with Padme at all times, but Luke was currently asleep on a cot on the outer wall of the room. Doctor Sert had left briefly to consult with a fellow doctor about Padme's injuries. He and she were effectively alone.

He hoped she wasn't afraid of him. It would break his heart if ...

"Do you know when I figured out you were still alive, Anakin?" she asked with a sleepy smile on her lips.

He shook his head silently.

Her smile widened, "Empire Day, 5 years ago. You were standing on the steps of the Imperial Palace while Palpatine droned on and your body was stiff with irritation and boredom. And I thought, that's my Ani. Loyally at his master's back, and hating every minute of it. You never did like politicians much."

He shook his head slightly, "I always loved one politician, Padme."

Her smile remained but her eyes closed as she slipped closer to sleep.

He waited, patiently. He'd die a thousand deaths for the privilege of gazing on his beloved, of holding her flesh hand in his own mechanical one.

Her eyes opened again after a minute, and now he saw tears in her newly hydrated eyes, "You weren't there when Luke and Leia were born, Ani."

His mechanical heart clenched in pain, "I know, Padme. I'm sorry."

"I ... I was so afraid. They were born so early and you ... you hurt me. I was so afraid they'd both die. And ..."

Her left hand came up and she touched her chest, "Something was wrong in here, Ani. I always felt close to you but that was ripped away and it was like a black hole sucking away my life essence. I nearly died, Anakin. I nearly died and left our children motherless ..."

She was crying in earnest now, and Vader felt a mixture of fury and self-hatred and helplessness. Fury because she had suffered alone, self-hatred because he attacked her, helplessness because he was an armored monster and ...

There was a slight movement at his side and Luke was suddenly there, his arms wrapped around his mother, lifting her upper body and rocking her reassuringly, "It's Ok, Mom. I'm fine, Leia's fine, Father's here. We're here, Mom. As a family. You're safe, and we're together."

Vader retreated to give his wife and son more space, even as his mind fixed on one of her statements.

_"... it was like a black hole sucking away my life essence ..."_

He was suddenly dizzy and nauseous.

"_sucking away my life essence ..._"

He should have died on Mustafar. The damage from Kenobi's lightsaber was debilitating, and the burns from the lava had devastated his body. He had always ascribed his own survival to Palpatine's determination, his own Force power, and the Emperor's brutal but efficient med droids.

But what if Sidious had somehow drawn Padme's life essence into Vader's own to save his horribly burned body? Vader knew of what Padme spoke when she had touched her chest. They had been tied together in the Force when he was but a child of 9, and when they had fallen in love and married, the bond between them had grown far stronger. The Dark Side destroyed rather than gave life. He knew that now. Had Sidious used Padme's life essence to keep his apprentice alive? Had Palpatine nearly killed his wife?!

Suddenly Vader knew, in the very depths of his being, that he had. Palpatine had targeted him for years, earned the trust of the young Anakin Skywalker, and finally turned him to the Dark Side. Wasn't it obvious that of all the things Sidious could not afford was for Padme Skywalker to live? She who was committed to democracy? She who was kind and caring and loving for the poor and downtrodden, who believed in justice for all? She who hated anything akin to dictatorship?

How had he been so blind all these years? How had he not seen the truth, that Sidious_ hated_ Padme?

His sudden rage was like a firestorm. It surged through his body and mind and out into the room, causing the instruments and even the walls to shake.

And in the far distant reaches of his mind, he felt the Darkness that was his Master awaken.

Fear seized him now. He ... he needed to leave Scarif immediately. If the Emperor contacted him now, he would either need to ignore the call or face his (former) Master and he could not, he would not dissemble, not now. He was used to hiding things from his master, but right now his mind was a whirl of fury and confusion and he was a broken man realizing how much he had not understood for the last 17 years ...

"Father?" Luke spoke up, breaking into Vader's agitated thoughts. The youth had straightened and was staring at him worriedly, "Are you all right?"

The Sith Lord clenched his teeth and forced himself to wait patiently through three cycles of breathing before speaking.

"Yes, my son. But we must leave this place now and go into hyperspace. Please ... please stay with your mother."

"All right, Father," Luke said in a puzzled way.

Vader strode to the side door which led into his private office even as it opened. He stalked through and stopped in astonishment.

His beautiful daughter stood against the transparisteel window, her face set with determination.

And looming over her was the cadaverous form of Grand Moff Tarkin.

/-

_Vader's Private Office_

Sovereign

_In orbit around Scarif_

_A few minutes **earlier** _

The door slid open and Governor Tarkin marched irritably into the room. It was about time that Vader brought him to have him grovel at Palpatine's (probably holographic) feet. At least his escorts/guards stayed outside the door.

Two meters into Vader's bleak and austere office, the governor halted in surprise. Because while no tall, 2 meter monolithic cyborg was in attendance, a small white clad girl was, her back towards him as she stared out the transparisteel window of the office. She turned at his entrance though, revealing a beautiful, if rather imperious, face. He frowned down at her and a few moments later, his brain supplied her identity.

"Princess Leia Organa," he said in a clipped tone. "This is certainly a surprise."

The girl's eyes narrowed, "Governor Tarkin. I should have expected to find you responsible for that monstrosity hanging in space. I recognized your foul stench when you were brought on board."

"Charming, to the last," Tarkin said with a sepulcher smile, even as his brain worked furiously. The royal family of Alderaan was known to have ties to the growing Rebellion. If Leia Organa was here, it could only be to supply pressure on her, and her family, to prevent open war. And what better way to intimidate the rulers of Alderaan than to reveal the Death Star in all her glory?

The young woman stepped forward now, her eyes narrowed, "Lord Vader tells me that ... that the Death Star, as he described it most picturesquely, will be capable of destroying an entire planet."

She shook her head now, her gaze piercing, "That is impossible, Governor Tarkin. Perhaps the gullible will believe such a thing, and be appropriately impressed, but I am not so easily deceived. It is impossible to construct a weapon powerful enough to destroy a planet. The Empire has wasted a truly impressive amount of time and resources in constructing this Death Star of yours. It is yet another clear example that the Empire cares not for its people. Those credits, and all that time and energy, could have been better used to facilitate the well being of the peoples of the galaxy."

Tarkin chuckled drily, "I assure you, Princess Leia, that the Death Star is nearly completed and will be capable of destroying entire planets. You may consider yourself too sophisticated to believe such a thing, but it would be regrettable for you if you refused to believe the truth. The Emperor has waited patiently for submission from those foolishly opposed to his rule. If your parents continue to back the rebellious factions in this galaxy, Alderaan will likely be the first planet to taste the Death Star's power."

Her face whitened and she took a step back, her voice dropping to a whisper, "Alderaan is peaceful, we have no weapons. You couldn't possibly destroy an entire planet full of innocents."

His expression hardened, "The people of Alderaan choose to follow their leaders, and if their leaders are rebellious fools ..."

She shook her head even as her expression calmed, "In any case, my original statement stands. No one in this galaxy has the intelligence, the ... the aptitude, to design such a weapon. It is impossible."

Tarkin smiled openly now, "Have you heard of Galen Erso, Princess Leia?"

She frowned now, her face uneasy, "Yes? The genius physicist and crystallographer? Of course."

"He, my dear princess, is responsible for the design of the Death Star's superlaser as well as many other aspects of the battle station's architecture. He has focused his remarkable abilities on bringing the weapon to its nearly complete form. I assure you, the Death Star will be operational, and able to destroy a planet, in a short amount of time."

The girl's eyes were horrified, "Erso is a pacifist! He would not assist the Empire to create such a weapon!"

"He was ... persuaded, Princess Leia," Tarkin said as he walked slowly over to the window next to her. The Death Star, nearly complete, floated in space nearby. A glorious sight.

"His wife was, most regrettably, killed in the line of fire ..."

"The Empire killed her," the princess breathed in horror.

Tarkin smiled thinly, and nodded, "And Erso's old friend and colleague, Director Krennic, who retrieved Erso from the planet where he had foolishly hidden himself, convinced Erso that his only wise choice was to support the Death Star project. Since then, Erso has worked willingly and diligently, gifting his genius for the glory of the Empire at a scientific facility on the planet Eadu."

"You broke Erso by murdering his wife, I suppose," Leia Organa said, face sorrowful.

He walked over to her now, loomed over her, "Indeed. As an added ... incentive, Galen Erso's daughter roams the galaxy even now, estranged from her father, but we have agreed to limit our search for her if he continues to cooperate. It is fortunate that so many individuals can be swayed and convinced by threats to their loved ones, Princess Leia."

She smiled now, coldly, "And unfortunate that sometimes those threats have unexpected side effects, Governor Tarkin."

The door behind them slid open and Tarkin heard the heavy breathing of Lord Darth Vader.

He turned, "Lord Vader ..."

A moment later, he found himself flying through the air before crashing into a wall. Tarkin collapsed to the ground with a cry of pain, even as his stunned ears heard Vader saying, "Leia, why is he here? Did he hurt you?"

Tarkin pushed himself shakily off the floor, his breathing unsteady, in time to see the girl lift an irritated eyebrow, "Of course not. I took the liberty of ordering him in here, and we had quite an interesting conversation. He spoke of the scientist Galen Erso as being a vital member in the construction of the Death Star's weapons and systems. Given that the man is a genius, and was forced into assisting, I think we should collect him from Eadu and interview him."

Vader stepped slowly toward the governor even as he nodded slowly, "An excellent plan, Princess. I will give the order to depart for Eadu as soon as I have finished killing Tarkin, slowly and very painfully."

Wilhuff Tarkin had always respected the power of Anakin Skywalker, then Darth Vader, but he had never truly been afraid of him. Because he knew that Vader was firmly under the wrinkled thumb of Emperor Palpatine, and Palpatine trusted him and needed him ...

"Lord Vader," he managed to squeak out, taking a step backwards towards the wall. "What is the meaning of this? I am loyal to the Emperor. He needs me ...!"

"Excellent," Vader growled, stepping closer still. "Your loss will be a minor blow to Palpatine, even as your death will sate some of my need for vengeance."

Tarkin was against the wall now, his back pressed against it, "Vengeance? What ... what is this about, Vader? I demand ..."

"You will demand nothing," the giant cyborg hissed, striding closer still. "My wife suffered brutality and torture at the hands of your men on the _Sovereign_ for a week, Tarkin. She may never recover fully. My loyalty to Palpatine is at an end, and I will use all my power and strength in the Force to bring him down. And since my wife suffered on your ship, I will ensure that you suffer as well, though regrettably I have less time for such an endeavor than I would prefer."

The governor's face was white as snow now, his bloodless lips gaping in horror, "No, Vader. No, I ... I have no idea of what you speak. Your wife?"

"My Padme," the Sith growled, gesturing with one finger. There was a crack and an explosion of pain in Tarkin's right arm, and he cried out in agony.

"My darling wife," he continued, gesturing again.

Tarkin's left arm cracked, and he screamed again in terror and pain.

"Lord Vader!" the princess called out.

"You will die, piece by piece," Vader continued relentlessly, gesturing again. Two of Tarkin's ribs cracked and he gasped.

"Father!" Organa called.

Tarkin gaped in astonishment through his anguish, even as Vader turned to face the princess of Alderaan.

"Yes, my daughter?" the deep voice was patient.

"Do we need Tarkin?" Organa demanded. "For retinal scans, or ... or anything like that."

The great mask shook negatively, "All that has been obtained."

"Very well then," Organa said firmly, stepping forward. At the last second, Tarkin saw the blaster in her hand.

A moment later, everything went permanently black.

Vader stared down at the corpse of his enemy, now on the ground with a smoking blaster hole through his torso.

"What..?" he began angrily, only to be interrupted by his daughter, whose eyes were flashing.

"The last thing we need from you is a Dark Side Force tantrum," she said indignantly. "I understand your anger. I feel it too. I hate what they did to Mother. But torturing the man to death is a stupid, time consuming_, evil_ thing to do. You've given me a headache from the Dark Side energy here, and Luke probably has a migraine."

Vader felt a swift jolt of contrition and reached out to his son. As Leia intimated, Luke wasn't doing well. He sensed the youth's cowering in the Force, and sent an apologetic tendril his way.

"You know Mother wouldn't want this," Leia continued gently.

Vader stood still, closed his eyes, forced himself to calm down. His daughter was right. Padme would not want him to take revenge.

"You are ... you are correct, my daughter. Let us proceed to Eadu in search of Galen Erso."

_Author Note: Tarkin didn't recognize Leia from the _Sovereign _because Luke and Leia were dressed as Imperial officers during Padme's rescue. The governor was naturally more focused on Vader than on two random underlings._


	6. Chapter 6

_Admiral Ozzel's private quarters_

_Star Destroyer _Sovereign

_In orbit around Scarif_

_10 minutes later_

"I understand, Captain Piett," Ozzel said with a nod of his rather jowly face. "We will continue to monitor the situation on Scarif and ensure that the Death Star remains properly protected."

"Understood, sir," Piett said.

The captain of the _Devastator,_ on holoscreen, looked slightly harassed to Ozzel's eye. No surprise there; Captain Piett was forced to work with Darth Vader on a daily basis, which had to be a thoroughly exhausting situation. For the tenth time this day, Ozzel rejoiced in being in command of the squadron around Scarif, not stationed aboard _Devastator _under the command of its Dark Lord.

"What is _Devastator_'s destination?" the admiral demanded.

Piett's narrow face frowned slightly. "Lord Vader and Governor Tarkin have ordered that our destination remain undisclosed, Admiral Ozzel, as we are not yet certain of the point of origin of the security leak regarding the Death Star. We will contact you as soon as we have the requisite information."

Ozzel looked disgruntled for form's sake, but he didn't really care. The longer Tarkin took to return, the better.

"Very well, Captain," he replied dismissively, and turned off the holoscreen.

/

_Padme's med bay_

Devastator

_In hyperspace en route to Eadu_

_3 hours later_

"How is Mother?" Leia asked worriedly, her eyes on Padme. The older woman was lying peacefully in bed with only 2 IV's attached now, and she was well swaddled in warm blankets.

Luke smiled at his sister even as he wrapped an arm around her, "She's doing well. She was awake for a few hours but she went back to sleep peacefully about an hour ago. Doctor Sert says she is doing much physically. Emotionally ..."

He sighed now, and continued more hesitantly, "I think she has a ways to go emotionally. She's kind of coasting on inner strength but it was a draining, horrifying experience."

Leia shivered with a mixture of sympathy and outrage, "I know."

"Doctor Sert?" Luke said, looking over at the man who was studying a med screen carefully. "Can you watch our mother for a few minutes, please?"

"Certainly, sir," Sert replied.

Luke rolled his eyes at the 'sir', but didn't protest aloud. He gestured to the nearby refresher and Leia followed him inside.

"This is silly," she said with a slight smile as the door slid shut behind them.

"I just don't want Mom waking up and this is the only private place easily available," Luke replied.

She smiled at him, then felt her smile fade away as she observed, and felt, his anxiety in the Force.

"What's wrong?" Leia asked gently.

Her twin shook his head, "What happened with Tarkin?"

Leia frowned before speaking slowly, "I managed to entice him into telling me about the Death Star and Galen Erso, the brilliant scientist responsible for much of its architecture, including the weapon's systems."

"And how did he end up dead, with a blaster hole to the chest?"

Leia tilted her head.

"I shot him," she said baldly.

"In cold blood, so to speak?" Luke asked hesitantly.

She stared at him defiantly, "Yes, I did. And I would do it again. He deserved it."

Luke glared back for a few seconds, then reached forward to wrap his arms around his sister. She stood stiff for a few seconds, then returned the embrace, even as she spoke softly.

"Vader was ... he was bent on torturing Tarkin to death. I'm sure you felt that Dark Side storm. Tarkin did deserve death, but not torture. You know I don't approve of that."

She stepped back now, her eyes bright with determination, "In an ideal galaxy, he would have put on trial for his crimes. But this is far from an ideal galaxy."

Her brother nodded, "I know."

"So you disapprove of what I did?" Leia asked, allowing her worry to fill her voice. She and Luke had spent far less time together than twins should, but she respected and loved him.

Luke hesitated for a long moment, then shook his head, "No. I don't disapprove. I hope that I would have had the courage to do the same thing, because it was right. Having said that, we need to be careful not to ... to do things that are wrong because ... because our biological father would do worse things. If that makes sense?"

Leia sighed and looked away for a moment, "I do understand."

She shook her head and returned her gaze to her brother's face, "I wish we could talk to Ahsoka. I feel so uncertain at times; this is such a complicated situation and we're dealing with a Sith Lord, even if it is a Sith Lord who clearly loves us and our mother. But his need for vengeance is frightening."

Luke closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them, "I'm going to talk to Father about Ahsoka."

Her eyes widened, "Is that wise?"

Luke shrugged, "I don't even know where she is right now, so it isn't like I can give Father her location if he presses me. And she was his padawan and they were close at one time. I can sense Father's moods pretty well, and he doesn't seem inclined to lie to us. I think if he wants to kill her, I'll be able to tell. But I hope he ... he'll be gently disposed toward her. I agree, we need someone with ... with more experience to deal with Father and his associated insanity."

"He wasn't insane back when they worked together," Leia pointed out wearily.

"Actually, he was," Luke replied with a slight grin. "Not in a Dark Side way but I've spent more time with Ahsoka than you have, and he did crazy things during most missions."

Leia hesitated, her natural caution warring with a strong desire to see her mentor.

"Ok," she said. "But Luke, please be careful."

/-

_Bail Organa's office_

_Royal Palace_

_City of Aldera_

_Alderaan_

Bail Organa sighed as he read the same paragraph of the memo for the third time.

"_Regrettably, the emerald grape harvest in the Organa vineyards was significantly impacted by the late frost. It is estimated that yields .._."

His brain drifted off again. How could he think about wine yields when his daughter was missing?

He closed his eyes and leaned back, struggling to stay calm. Leia had disappeared several days ago on Imperial Center, though it had taken longer than it should for her absence to be reported by her staff. She had been in the habit of disappearing on occasion and he understood that; she occasionally met with Padme and/or Luke, and those meetings needed to be kept secret.

But this time she'd been gone too long, with no word to either her personnel in the Senate or her parents on Alderaan.

Breha was, Bail knew, beside herself with worry though she maintained her regal calm in front of all others. Only at night did she cry herself to sleep in her husband's arms.

He felt guilty; he knew Leia was strong willed and politically brilliant, but he never should have allowed her to be so prominently in the public eye. On the other hand, even Padme had been in favor of Leia's decision to enter the Senate; the woman had been searching the galaxy for her daughter and had never considered that she might be out in the open. And Ahsoka had assured both of the elder Organas that their daughter shielded her Force presence so well that the Emperor and Vader would never notice her.

Vader ...

It was of course ridiculous to imagine that Vader and Anakin Skywalker were one and the same, though Padme had stated she thought it quite likely. Was there any chance that Leia had believed her biological mother and, compelled by curiosity, approached the Dark Lord?

Surely not. Leia was too intelligent, too wise, for that.

(Though she was, by birth, a Skywalker. And Skywalkers were crazy, dare devil, courageous, insane risk takers.)

He sighed, and read the paragraph about the grapes for the 4th time.

A slight beep interrupted him, and he turned to his private com. His heart beat faster as he realized it was an encrypted message from ... yes, from Leia!

He quickly ran the encryption program, his face flushed with relief. She was somewhere out there. She was (and here, he addressed his deepest fears) still alive.

"_Dear Papa,_

_ I apologize for leaving so abruptly from Imperial City, and I hope you will pass on my regrets to my senatorial staff. My friend Chaney is in the midst of life crisis. I don't want to go into details, as it is private, but she needed my help. She has been such a blessing to our family that I knew you wouldn't mind. Her situation is more complex than it originally appeared, and it may take some time to resolve her problems."_

(So Padme was in trouble. And Leia had gone to help her.)

"_You'll remember that you and Chaney had a disagreement a couple of years ago about a mutual former friend. Chaney was right, and our friend has been helping us with her problems."_

(Vader. Dear Kessel Maw, Vader. Vader _was_ Anakin? And he was helping with Padme's problems? Really? Darth Vader, who had ravaged Kashyyyk and cut a swath of death through many a battlefield? Padme must be in grave danger for Leia to approach the Dark Lord of the Sith.)

"_I'll contact you again when I can. In the meantime, I beg you to tender my apologies to those inconvenienced by my abrupt departure. I'm certain I will be ready to resume my duties by the time the next Senatorial session begins in two standard months time."_

(If Vader knew of Leia's identity, then this was sheer absurdity. He and Palpatine would not allow Anakin Skywalker's daughter to serve in the Senate. But perhaps Vader did not yet know? Was Luke with Leia? And where was Padme? In any case, Leia was clearly concealing the truth of her situation to random prying eyes who might decode this message, so this section could be so much smokescreen.)

"_I love you Papa, Leia."_

Bail closed his eyes and leaned his head to rest on the desk. Leia was alive. And apparently free to send obscure messages. But the situation was incredibly murky, dangerous, and frightening.

/-

_Darth Vader's personal quarters_

Devastator

_In hyperspace en route to Eadu_

_4 hours later_

Darth Vader gestured at the door and it slid open to reveal his son, who strode in looking tired but alert.

"Did you sleep well, Luke?" he asked courteously. Thus far, his son had been more openly accepting of him then his daughter, but the situation was still complex and he needed to work on the relationship. So he was trying for courteous small talk.

Not easy, that, when he had spent 17 years avoiding small talk, and indeed, any relationships beyond terror and intimidation.

"I feel much better," Luke said with slight grin, then glanced toward his mother's room next door. "I need to relieve Leia in a few minutes but we agreed we wanted to talk to you about something."

Vader set his holopad down on his otherwise vacant desk and focused on his son.

"Yes?"

Luke licked his lips nervously and spoke, "I am sure you've figured out that Leia and I have had some training in the Force."

"Jedi training," Vader stated coldly.

His son hesitated, then shook his head, "Not really. Light Side yes, Jedi no. Because our teacher is Ahsoka Tano. And she tells us, early and often, that's she's not a Jedi."

Vader stared back at his son, his mind filled with a cascade of images of a young Togruta wielding her twin lightsabers.

"Snips," he said softly.

His son nodded, his eyes focused intently on his father's mask, "Yes, she told us that was your nickname for her."

Vader leaned back even as he felt his son's Force presence brush against his consciousness. No doubt the youth wished to know his father's feelings about his former Jedi apprentice.

What were his feelings?

Ahsoka had been full of fire and vibrancy, brave and bold. Loyal. Devoted. Committed to him. And then she had left the Jedi Order. She had left him, her master.

Because ... well, because of the false accusations against her, and the Order's betrayal, which would have resulted in her execution if the young Anakin Skywalker had not intervened.

Intellectually, Vader could hardly blame her for leaving, though emotionally he did blame her because everyone left him eventually.

Everyone left.

But now, it seemed those once lost were returning.

"I am thankful," Vader told his son sincerely, "that my former padawan has been looking after you and your sister."

Luke smiled.

_/_

_Throne Room_

_Royal Palace_

_Theed_

_Naboo_

"Speak," Emperor Palpatine ordered coldly.

His aide raised his head and spoke briskly, "Admiral Ozzel informed me that there was an attempt on Governor Tarkin's life aboard the _Sovereign;_ the attack was thwarted by Lord Vader. The governor was taken aboard _Devastator _and is recovering there in safety, as Lord Vader is concerned there might be an additional attempt on the_ Sovereign_. Captain Piett of _Devastator_ informed Ozzel that Lord Vader has discovered a security leak which threatens the safety of the Death Star. He is en route to an undisclosed location to find the source of the leak."

The Emperor leaned back on his throne, his eyes narrowed into slits. A security leak regarding the Death Star? There had always been a danger that the battle station's existence would be discovered by the Senate or cells of the fledgling Rebellion, though thus far all potential breaches had been satisfactorily resolved through treachery, manipulation, and execution as needed.

Vader's anger through their bond seemed excessive considering the younger Sith was not a strong proponent of the Death Star. Nevertheless, there might be other factors in play - perhaps a Jedi was involved?

The Emperor had made certain that his battered apprentice loathed the Jedi, and the cyborg had proven most adept at mopping up the shattered remains of that old and pathetic organization with its focus on _love _and _peace_ and _compassion_ and _humility._

The Emperor shrugged slightly. There were issues still unclear, but nothing of great concern.

"Where is Director Krennic?" he demanded of his aide, who waited with cast down eyes for his Master to speak.

The man quickly checked a datapad, then spoke meekly, "The Director is en route to Eadu to consult with the scientists there about the Death Star's super laser."

Palpatine nodded, "Very well. Send a message to Eadu for Krennic's eyes only that there is a potential threat to the Death Star. Give him the information from Ozzel so that he is aware."

"Yes, your Highness."

/

_ Padme's med bay_

_Devastator_

_8 hours later_

"Tell me about your injuries and your life support suit, Anakin," Padme ordered, though weakly. Her voice was still fragile, and her fingers were gentle as they traced down his blinking chest plate. "I am guessing your condition is very serious."

He froze with a mixture of embarrassment and distress. The last thing he wanted to talk about was his own destroyed, deformed body – not to his wife, the most beautiful woman in the galaxy.

"My condition ... is not important," he finally managed to croak out, even as he reached around surreptitiously with the Force. He and Padme were alone, so this difficult conversation was private. He was relieved about that.

Doctor Sert was getting some much needed rest, as were the twins, whom Padme had firmly sent off to bed as both were exhausted. That left Vader with Padme and three med droids. She had chuckled slightly and stated that this was two more than necessary, but Vader wasn't taking any chances with his beloved wife. The medical personnel were confident she was stable, but ... but ...

"All right, Ani," his wife said softly, her eyes focused on his eyeplates. "We don't have to talk about all that now. But are you in pain?"

He was always in pain, sometimes less, sometimes more. He had learned to ignore it, or forget it, or use it to stoke the Dark Side. It didn't matter.

"It is not important," he said uncomfortably.

She rolled her eyes and managed a semblance of her usual saucy smile, "Is our conversation going to consist of me asking questions and you telling me that my questions aren't important, Ani?"

He opened his hidden mouth, then closed it. He didn't want to dismiss her, of course, but why did it matter what he felt like, whether he was in pain unless ...?

"Are you in pain?" he demanded suddenly.

She stared at him, and the smile disappeared to be replaced by shiny tears which she blinked back determinedly.

"A little," Padme said in a hushed tone. "The ... the medication keeps me comfortable until near the end of one dose, when it gets bad again."

Vader's hands clenched. His wife had suffered a couple of cracked ribs, multiple contusions, electrical burns, and overwhelming exhaustion.

He wished he had been allowed more time to slowly exterminate the fiends that had hurt his wife.

As he had hurt so many others. He had tortured hundreds personally, and ordered the torture of thousands more. What kind of hypocrite was he to be so angry at those who had harmed his wife under orders?

A psychotic, not entirely stable, enraged Sith Lord hypocrite, that's what kind.

"The twin's birth was ... very painful," Padme continued softly, her eyes now fixed vacantly on a wall. "But it was so different than Imperial torture, because ... because I had people caring for me, encouraging me, helping me. Obi-Wan saved my life, I know he did ..."

As usual, Kenobi's name fueled a geyser of fury in Vader's mind, but he managed to limit his outer response to a suddenly fisted hand, which Padme didn't seem to notice.

"He kept saying that the twins needed me, that ... that they needed their mother. I was so tired, and in such pain, and it felt like my life was being drained away and I fought and fought for the babies, because Obi-Wan kept telling me, telling me they needed me ..."

She closed her eyes now, and he thought she was going to sleep, but then her eyes opened again and she reached out to touch his arm, "I'm sorry, Ani, that I wasn't with you when ... when you were hurt. I wish I had been there for you."

Vader sighed softly to himself. He had survived and Padme had nearly died because of him, because Sidious had used his wife's Life Force to sustain his own.

"I think you_ were _with me, Padme," he said gently.

She smiled and this time when she closed her eyes, it was followed quickly by sleep.

_/-_

_Author Note: Ahsoka's story is not canon at all, so she didn't meet up and fight Vader at any point. Instead, she found out about the survival of Padme and the twins and devoted part of her time to protecting and training Luke and Leia. _


	7. Chapter 7

_Galen Erso's office_

_Energy Conversion Facility_

_Eadu_

_2 days later_

Galen Erso sat facing his holoscreen. But while someone from behind might assume was focused on the data streaming in front of him, he had his eyes closed and was concentrating intensely.

An array of atoms danced in his mind's eye, shifting and moving until they solidified into the face centered cubic structure of the inorganic form of a Kyber crystal. In the interstices of the lattice lived that most enigmatic and mysterious of particles, the organic fragments which translated the power of the Force to the overall structure of the Kyber crystal. Energy. Power. Not meant just for the mysterious Jedi and Sith, but for everyone. Clean, affordable, renewable energy.

Devastating energy. Energy which Tarkin, and Palpatine, planned to use to bring the galaxy to heel through the power of a superlaser which could destroy planets.

Erso had spent countless hours mourning his decisions in the past. He had trusted Orson Krennic. He had discounted his beloved Lyra's early concerns, and in the end she died as Orson Krennic proved a dangerous and manipulative false friend. He had lost Jyn, his precious, only daughter.

There was no point in berating himself any further. He had plans within plans to strike a blow against the murderous government which held him effectively in captivity – a captivity not of cells and manacles, but of emotional manipulation and fear for his beloved Jyn, who was out there somewhere.

For now, he needed the relief of work, of the joys of making small steps towards more understanding of these magnificent crystals which had confounded even the most brilliant minds for centuries.

He was, and he owned it without disguise, perhaps the most accomplished crystallographer of his day and yet even he knew he had barely touched on the true knowledge of the Kyber crystals. They were indeed magnificent.

His mind drifted to the most recent faceting tests which showed the facet of the crystals had a non –linear correlation with energy. The results were relatively clear but the physics behind the results far less so.

"Erso. Erso!"

Galen jerked his eyes awake, gazing in surprise at Director Orson Krennic, who was looming over him and shaking his arms angrily.

"What?" Galen demanded, rising to his feet someone shakily. He often had trouble re-entering the normal world when lost in the complexity of his own admittedly abnormal brain.

"What?! What?" Krennic was nearly frothing at the mouth in anger, and his white cape flapped from his agitation. "I've been trying to contact you via com for 20 minutes!"

Erso glanced at the chrono in some surprise. He'd been immersed in his own thoughts for nearly an hour.

"I was thinking, Krennic," he returned evenly. "I'm here to think, am I not? What is the problem?"

"The problem," the Director bit out angrily, "is that _Devastator_ just came out of lightspeed and Darth Vader himself is ordering us both to his ship immediately. Now I asked you yesterday, but I'll ask you again. Do you know anything about this security leak which the Emperor himself spoke of in his message to me? Do you know anything at all?"

Erso looked down at the slightly shorter man.

"I know nothing, Krennic. Nothing at all. As far as I am aware, the Death Star is completely safe. Of course, I have been sequestered here for some time. Surely the security forces at Scarif would be far better informed?"

Krennic bit his lip, his face showing unaccustomed nervousness, "Vader and presumably Tarkin are here, Erso. That suggests to me that they believe the source of the leak is also here."

Erso shook his head, "The scientists here have contributed greatly to various systems on the Death Star. They may merely wish to question us regarding ways to augment the defensive systems."

He hoped so, anyway. Was there any chance they knew of the thermal exhaust port ...?

There was no point in dwelling on it. If Vader knew, then Galen Erso was dead. No doubt unpleasantly. It was as simple as that.

For a brief moment, he wished, passionately, that he had sent a message to the Rebellion. But he had not found the right messenger yet.

/

_Meeting Room_

Devastator

_In orbit around Eadu_

_1 hour later_

The door slid open and Orson Krennic and Galen Erso strode into the room behind an aide, and flanked by two stormtroopers.

Darth Vader stood at one window, staring out into space. Galen allowed his eyes to roam briefly. This was an unusual room for such a meeting. It was more a lounge than a conference room with fairly comfortable chairs and small tables next to them. The view out the large window was magnificent.

Vader turned now, his blank mask, with those red eye sockets, gazing at them dispassionately. Erso suppressed a shudder. They said that Vader could read minds ...

"Director Krennic, Engineer Erso," the deep voice intoned. "I am honored that you could join me."

Krennic nodded obsequiously, "We are of course pleased to serve you in any way, Lord Vader."

The Sith Lord took a few steps closer, then paused to gaze first at Krennic, then at Erso.

"I presume both of you know why I am here," he intoned coldly.

There was a hesitant pause before the Director spoke, "I received a message from the Emperor itself that there was an assassination attempt on Governor Tarkin, which you thwarted. I believe there are also concerns about the security of the Death Star?"

The man trailed off uncertainly, far more nervous than was his normal demeanor. But Galen completely understood that. He'd seen Vader from afar once or twice, but here, close up, with the two meter cyborg looming over him, he was terrifying.

"That is correct," Vader stated. "There is a plot to destroy the Death Star. The details are murky, though those involved definitely wish to use any structural weakness in the battle station itself to cause its demise. Director Krennic, are you aware of any such flaw in the Death Star?"

Krennic shook his head, his blue eyes blazing, "There is no such flaw, Lord Vader. The very best minds in the galaxy, including Engineer Erso, have toiled for literally decades designing the battle station. It is impregnable and soon, it will bring to heel those who would seek to rebel against the Emperor's beneficent rule."

The Sith stared at the man for a long moment, his breathing steady, before he turned to Galen.

"My question is the same to you, Engineer Erso," the bass voice intoned. "Is there any flaw you are aware of in the Death Star which could be used by the Emperor's enemies?"

Galen had spent years perfecting his demeanor of tired, weary, defeated, committed Imperial.

"No, my lord," he said respectfully. "As Director Krennic states, the Death Star is an engineering masterpiece. It will be, when completed, the ultimate power in the universe."

The Dark Lord stiffened slightly and took a step forward, his demeanor menacing in the extreme. Erso felt his breathing quicken and for a brief moment was afraid he was giving himself away. But no (and here the logical portion of his brain came to his rescue), the Sith Lord's personal attention was enough to cause any man to gasp, wheeze, breathe heavily, or possibly even faint.

The tableau of looming Sith Lord and nervous engineer held for a full minute, and then Vader stepped back slightly, even as he turned his mask toward the young aide who was standing nearby. Galen was startled when the young man (hardly more than a boy, really) suddenly nodded.

A moment later he was even more surprised as the aide pulled a blaster, and shot Orson Krennic.

A cry of surprise burst from the Galen's lips even as he realized, belatedly, the shot had only stunned his annoying superior, not killed him.

"Off to the high security cells?" the boy asked, his demeanor astonishingly casual.

"Indeed," Vader said, even as he gestured to the door. It slid open, and four troopers stepped in and marched over to the fallen Director. With a regal gesture from their lord, they picked up Krennic and hauled him off.

This left Galen Erso standing in the middle of the room, firmly keeping his mouth from gaping open.

"Lord Vader, may I ask why you saw fit to have your aide stun the Director?" he asked, his voice only quavering slightly.

"We intend to explain all of this odd situation, Engineer Erso," a new voice stated.

Galen turned to see a lovely young woman enter through a far door. She was short, slight, dark haired, dark eyes, and had her arm around an older woman, whose own considerable beauty was marred by a bruise on her face and lines of exhaustion in her demeanor.

Vader turned suddenly and moved rapidly toward the older woman, "Padme, you should be lying down."

The woman laughed, actually _laughed_.

"Ani, I'm going to go crazy lying down," she stated, her face pale but serene. "Doctor Sert encouraged me to get up and move around and my room, while nice, is getting rather old."

"Then at least sit," the Dark Lord said.

His voice through the vocoder, sounded _concerned_, even as he walked over to guide the older woman into a nearby seat.

"Engineer Erso, please sit down," the younger woman said, gesturing towards a seat. The aide sank into a nearby seat, while Galen shot a bewildered glance at Vader.

"Sit," the man growled.

Galen obeyed, gingerly, even as he turned his uncertain eyes on the girl, who sat down nearest him. Stars knew he didn't want to look at _Vader_.

The young woman was astonishingly young, and even though she held herself with authority, he thought her even younger than his precious Jyn was.

If his daughter still lived.

He forced these thoughts to the back of his mind. This situation was confusing and dangerous, and he needed all his wits about him.

"Have a seat, Leia," the young man said, before turning to Erso. "My apologies for all the drama, Engineer Erso. I'm sure you are feeling rather bewildered."

Galen blinked at the boy, then turned his attention to the girl, and blinked again.

"Yes," he said with the vague awareness that his voice was wobbling.

"So, let me provide some introductions," the boy said. "My name is Luke Skywalker, which probably won't mean anything to you. This young lady is Princess Leia Organa of Alderaan, and perhaps you have heard of her?"

Erso turned to look at the young woman. He had heard of Leia Organa, though of course he'd never met her.

"Your Highness?" he said rather doubtfully.

She nodded but did not speak.

"And this," the aide continued, gesturing at the weary woman on the couch, "is my biological mother, Padme Dalam, formerly Padme Naberrie, Padme Amidala, and Padme Skywalker."

The woman chuckled softly at this, causing Erso to shoot a glance at her, a glance which turned into a startled gaze. For Vader had approached behind the woman and had placed his gloved hands on her shoulder, and she had lifted one of her own hands to touch the Dark Lord's.

What_ was_ this?

"Engineer Erso," Leia Organa said gravely, pulling his attention back to her. "I am the twin sister of Luke Skywalker, and the biological daughter of Padme Dalam. Luke and I are also the progeny of the former Anakin Skywalker, now Lord Darth Vader."

Erso's breath caught in his throat. His mind raced. The Dark Lord has chosen a strange moment to strangle him...but then he realized, no, he was just so surprised that he had stopped breathing.

He coughed a couple of times, aware that his mouth had fallen open and that he was drooling. He also found himself on his feet, his gaze now fixed on Darth Vader.

"Wh-wh-what?" he stuttered.

"It is as my son and daughter say," Vader said coldly. "I thought that my wife had died long ago, and my children with her. I have found them now, and discovered that our long and agonizing separation was the result of Emperor Palpatine's machinations. I have abandoned my commitment to him, and indeed am in rebellion against him, though I hope he will not discover that for a few more days, until we have destroyed the Death Star."

Erso actually swayed at this, and Leia stepped forward to put a supportive hand on his arm.

"What?" he whispered aloud.

/

_Author Note: Hey ya'all, my husband and I watched Rogue One (finally). To my surprise, we really liked it. I say surprise because it is tragic that (spoiler alert, if anyone ELSE hasn't seen it) the main characters all die. That is so sad! But it is a great movie with interesting characters whom we cared about, and the Scarif battles were fun and neat. Vader was scary, but that is apt enough!_


	8. Chapter 8

_Freezer_

_The Devastator_

_20 minutes later_

"Rings of Lah'mu," Galen muttered softly, taking a horrified step back.

"Yes, he is quite nasty," Leia Organa said with a regal tilt of her head, "like something out of a holodrama."

"Leia," the young Luke Skywalker said in a reprimanding tone.

"I have no regrets that he is dead, Luke," Leia said, gesturing at the frozen form of Governor Wilhuff Tarkin. The dead Moff was lying on a slab in a freezer attached to Vader's kitchen. It was, both twins thought, quite odd that Vader had a kitchen at all, since he couldn't eat normally. But the freezer was a useful place to stash a dead Imperial where he wouldn't start rotting.

"What happened to him?" Erso asked softly, his eyes taking in the man's twisted limbs and tormented expression, along with the hole in his chest.

Luke grabbed the engineer gently by the arm and drew him into the kitchen. It was empty except for a kitchen droid in the corner, and Galen found himself sitting on a chair at a small table with Leia Organa across from him and Luke Skywalker at his side.

"Lord Vader began breaking Tarkin's bones one by one," Organa said, her brow now furrowed a little. "I shot the governor to put him out of his misery."

Erso took a deep breath, "And what did Governor Tarkin do to attract Lord Vader's particular ire?"

"My mother spent several days in the prison cells of Tarkin's Star Destroyer, the _Sovereign_," Skywalker explained softly. "Tarkin didn't know her true identity as Father's wife, but was seeking information about Dalam Enterprises, the company she owns. They thought she was just a random minion in the company, not its leader. Mother was tortured mercilessly. If we hadn't reached her when we did, she almost certainly would have died."

Erso looked at the young man, then at the young woman. Both had shed any semblance of calm and there were tears in both pairs of eyes.

He took a deep breath, and realized he was finally convinced. This was no peculiar nightmare, nor was it a trap. Darth Vader had a family, and he was rebelling against the Emperor.

"What do you need from me?" he asked.

Leia Organa reached out her hand a small towel leaped into her hand, which she used to quickly mop her eyes.

(Wonderful. Vader's children were trained Force sensitives. Of course they were.)

"There is a flaw in the Death Star," Skywalker said calmly.

Erso stared at the youth with uncertainty, "Is there?"

Now the young man smiled slightly, "Yes, there is, and you know what it is. I could tell you were lying when my father asked you about it."

This was the point of no return. Or was it? If he admitted to the flaw, he would be a traitor to the Emperor. On the other hand, if he claimed that he was loyal to the Empire, Vader would kill him. Because now Galen Erso, brilliant crystallographer, knew that Lord Darth Vader was formerly the Jedi Anakin Skywalker and he had a _family._

"Yes," he said firmly. "There is a flaw. I put it in the architectural plans myself. There is a small thermal exhaust port in the meridian trench which leads to the reactor core. A direct hit will cause a chain reaction which will destroy the entire battle station."

Leia Organa sat back now, her face alight with fierce joy, "Thank you, Engineer Erso. Thank you for trusting us."

"I decided," he replied drily, "that I passed the point of no return some time ago."

"That's true," Skywalker responded, his brow furrowed. "So can you tell us the precise location of the exhaust port?"

Erso shook his head and sighed, "I cannot. The battle station is enormous, and I don't know the precise location from a longitudinal standpoint. We will need to access the data vaults and find the exact file with the plans."

Organa frowned, "Do we have the name of the file in question?"

"Stardust," Erso replied, his eyes lowered.

"Does that have a particular meaning?" the princess asked gently.

"It was ... it was my daughter's nickname," he replied softly.

A moment later, his hand was covered with her own smaller one, "We can search for her, if you like. Mother and Lord Vader have tremendous resources at their disposal."

"I ... I want her to be safe," Erso said, lifting his gaze to fix on her. "Better that she remain hidden from me if it keeps her away from those who would seek to use her against me."

The twins exchanged quick glances, and Leia nodded, "As you wish, Engineer Erso."

"So," Luke Skywalker stated briskly, "we need to access the data vaults, study the architectural plans, and blow up the Death Star. Sounds challenging. I assume that the vaults are carefully guarded and require a high security clearance?"

Erso snorted inelegantly, "Your father can get in anywhere, young man."

"What about the thermal exhaust port," Organa demanded worriedly. "Is it a hard shot?"

Galen nodded slowly, "A very difficult shot, Princess. I only hope a targeting computer can make it."

Luke chuckled now and shook his head, "Don't worry about that, Leia. Father is the best star pilot the galaxy has ever known. He can make that shot."

/-

_Palpatine's Throne Room_

_The _Sovereign_ Star Destroyer_

_In hyperspace_

_A short distance from Imperial Center_

_5 days later_

Emperor Sheev Palpatine leaned back on his throne and frowned thoughtfully, even as he lifted his glass of Alderaanian wine to his lips. It was extremely costly, and fortunately for his kitchen staff, as delicious as usual.

His time on Naboo had been most pleasant. The young Queen, for all her carefully suppressed distaste of him, had been a most attentive hostess. He, who had once been but a minor member of a noble family, was now leader of the known galaxy. Now, after decades of working and scheming and manipulating and conquering, he was on the verge of completely destroying the last remnants of those fools who sought to oppose him.

Thoughtfully, he read (for the 6th time) his last message from Darth Vader, which had been sent from Eadu.

"_My Master,_

_ I am departing Eadu shortly for Scarif. I have questioned both Orson Krennic and Galen Erso and am investigating further on Scarif to analyze possible weaknesses in the Death Star's defenses. _

_ I have also discovered preliminary information about Anakin Skywalker's former padawan._

_ Your servant, Darth Vader"_

Ahsoka Tano.

She had left the Jedi before Order 66, and had successfully evaded capture or assassination. Perhaps Vader's current simmering rage tied into her? Indeed, that made complete sense.

Once again, Palpatine smiled, this time nostalgically. He had been at the top of his game 17 years ago, and he now remembered (for the 236th time) that glorious moment when the young Anakin Skywalker had bowed before him and turned to the Dark Side, becoming the Sith Lord Darth Vader. It was, in many ways, his epochal achievement in his truly glorious career. He had noted the power of the young Skywalker at age 9, and through the stupidity of the Jedi, had managed to groom the young man into trusting him absolutely. Then Padme Skywalker had provided the necessary impetus to pull the young man to the Dark Side through his pathetic fears for her safety.

Fears which were accurate enough, though Vader still did not know that his wife had died in childbirth, and her child with her, due to Palpatine's machinations. As Vader lay dying after being horribly burned, Sidious had followed the Force bond between husband and wife and drained Padme's life to sustain the dying embers of her husband.

Sidious chuckled reminiscently. The death of Padme had been the final step in fixing Vader's permanent devotion to his Master. And Vader's hatred of his former persona meant that anyone and anything associated with Anakin Skywalker was the target of his considerable rage.

So yes, the death of Ahsoka Tano would spur his apprentice onto new heights of Dark Side power, which was all to the good.

Nevertheless ...

He closed his eyes and focused. He had been slightly uneasy about his apprentice for several weeks though there was no obvious reason for his concerns. Vader had been dashing here and there, and the available data indicated that there was a viable threat to the security of the Death Star. Indeed, he had sensed the truth of the younger Sith's message, that someone sought to destroy the battle station which would finally bring peace and order to the galaxy.

It was of no great concern. He would contact Vader and talk to his apprentice to probe the younger man's current mental state. Vader, like other apprentices before him, would rebel at some point and attempt to seize power by murdering his master. But that day was far off. Such plots took time, and when he had last seen his servant, the former Anakin Skywalker had been his usual, devoted self.

Outside the window, Palpatine saw the whorls of hyperspace dissipate into the star field of real space.

Imperial Center. It was good to be home - good to be back in an ecumenopolis of billions of souls, all of whom were subservient to his power and might.

Palpatine drank the last of his wine and floated the glass to a nearby table, called his cane to his hand, and rose to his feet. He walked slowly toward the exit elevator which would take him directly to his private shuttle. As he approached the exit, his six Royal Guards fell into position behind him.

The elevator was large enough to hold them all, and they descended rapidly seven floors to the shuttle bay. The door slid open to reveal two squads of white clad stormtroopers waiting in ranks on either side of the path to his ship.

But ...

Captain Kartain stood four meters away, flanked by two lieutenants, and his face was pale with terror. His two subordinates were also shaking slightly.

Palpatine stumped closer, his rage ready to burst forth. Something had obviously happened.

"Yes, Captain?" he demanded.

The man dropped to his knee, his eyes fixed on the floor, "Your ... your Highness, we just received word from Imperial Vizer Sate Pestage in Imperial City that ... that there are confirmed reports that the Death Star has been destroyed in orbit around Scarif."

There was a long, dreadful pause.

Two minutes later, everyone in the shuttle bay except Darth Sidious was dead.

/-

_Breha Organa's office_

_Royal Palace_

_Aldera_

_Alderaan_

The Queen of Alderaan looked up in surprise as the door slid open and her beloved husband hurried into the room, his face tense.

She rose quickly, "Is it Leia?"

Bail nodded, even as he thrust a holopad into her hands. She looked down and rapidly read the decoded message.

"_Dear Mama and Papa,_

_ I hope this message finds you well. Chaney's old friend has decided to leave his prior employment and needs her support, and mine. And I, in turn, need your support. Please come immediately, Mama and Papa. Please. I know it is inconvenient, but I need you right now. Please meet us at the childhood home of Chaney's son._

_ I look forward to seeing you soon._

_ Your loving daughter, Leia"_

Breha read this incredible note a second time and then a third, before raising her eyes to Bail's face.

"Vader ... has turned on Palpatine?" she whispered very softly.

"Apparently," Bail said, his face incredulous.

Breha took a deep breath and glanced around her, "I can arrange to leave in two days ..."

Bail reached over and grabbed his wife's hand, pulled her to her feet, and leaned close to his precious love, "No, Breha. Now. We need to leave within the hour."

Her eyes widened, "Now? We can't, Bail. There is so much to prepare ..."

He leaned closer still, "Breha, if Vader has turned on Palpatine, Palpatine will quickly investigate the reason for his rebellion. We don't know details, but the Emperor may learn of Leia's involvement. We could be in grave danger. Leia makes it clear that we need to leave immediately."

She gasped even as she read the message for the third time.

"You're right," she breathed softly, turning toward her desk. "I'll be ready in 30 minutes."

/

_ Padme's quarters_

_Star Destroyer _Devastator

_En Route to Excarga_

"Was it a difficult shot, Anakin?" Padme asked curiously.

Vader stared at his wife, who was leaning against his (no doubt uncomfortable) cyborg body, her body relaxed, her face serene.

"No," Vader replied simply, carefully wrapping an arm around her slender body.

She turned now and lifted a hand to run it along his mask, "I'm not surprised. You won a pod race at age nine. How hard could it be to blow up a planet destroying battle station after decades more practice?"

He paused before replying, mesmerized at the smile on her face, the peace emanating from her. She was here, she was safe, she was recovering rapidly.

He couldn't be happier.

"It was not a challenge," he agreed after a moment. "In a battle scenario, with the Death Star's defensive systems engaged, with enemy ships attacking me, it would have been a demanding shot. As it was, with the Death Star still not completed and the local forces unaware of my purpose, it was all too easy, a piece of baked confection."

"I was worried about you when the station blew, Father," Luke said. He was seated across the room, watching his parents with fondness. "The blast was enough to take down the planetary defense shield, and even with the augmented shielding on your own TIE Advanced, it was a dangerous situation with all that energy released."

The former Dark Lord shrugged even as he tightened his arm slightly around his wife, "All was well, my son."

He looked toward the door now even as Luke did. A moment later, Leia walked through and approached her biological father.

"I sent this message to my parents," she stated without a preamble.

Vader took the holopad in his free hand, read it, read it again, then read it a third time.

"We have to go to _Tatooine_?" Anakin asked in a rather whiny tone.

_/-_

_Author Note: Thank you, dear husband, for your editing!_


	9. Chapter 9

_Obi-Wan Kenobi's Hut_

_Tatooine_

_3 days later_

He was working on a recalcitrant moisture vaporator outside his hut when a powerful Force presence bloomed to full strength behind him.

Obi-Wan Kenobi straightened and turned slowly, his hand drifting to his lightsaber. The tall Togruta standing behind him lifted an inquiring eyebrow, but didn't go for her own matching sabers.

"Ahsoka," he breathed out incredulously, even as he allowed his hand to drop from his waist. "You got tall."

"You got old," she replied with a smirk. "Do you mind if we get out of the heat?"

"Not at all," he assured her, stepping away from the vaporator. He led his former apprentice's former apprentice through the door and into the welcome cool of his small abode.

"I'll get you a drink of water," he offered, moving into the kitchen and filling two glasses. When he came back out and offered her one, Ahsoka took it even as she looked slowly around the rather dilapidated structure.

"So have you been here ever since Order 66?" Tano asked softly, her expression one of pity.

Kenobi choked slightly on his water, then shook his head, "No, no. I was here for nine years looking after Luke when he was being cared for by Owen and Beru Lars. Then Padme came and took the boy, and I followed them both to Siskeen. But she disappeared on a mission on Tatooine a few weeks ago and I'm still trying to figure out what happened to her, so I camped out here in the meantime."

He sighed, gazing around morosely, "I've been trying to get the hut in shape, to fix the vaporators and electrical systems. It's surprising how much damage was done in the last eight years since I left. The winds and sands and heat are pervasive."

"And the Tuskens probably did some damage as well," Ahsoka commented softly.

He quirked a puzzled eyebrow, but gestured to a crude chair, "Please sit, Ahsoka. I realize now that I sensed your presence near Luke many a time, so you were the one who trained Luke to shield, no doubt among other things. What brings you here to Tatooine?"

"No," she replied, her blue eyes determined, "first we need to talk more about you. You said you followed Padme and Luke to Siskeen. Padme never mentioned encountering you."

The old man shook his head, even as his gaze drifted downward, unable to meet her eyes, "No, I never approached her. If there is one thing I've learned in the last 17 years, it is how to maintain a low profile. I felt it best to ... to stay in the background, and keep the boy safe."

Ahsoka Tano tilted her head, her montrals shifting with the motion, "Why didn't you want Padme to know you were watching over her and Luke, Kenobi?"

There was a long pause, which stretched to a full fledged moment.

"Because you knew what happened to Anakin," Ahsoka stated, "and you didn't want to tell Padme."

Kenobi shook his head in agitation, "Anakin is dead."

She stood up now. She was, he realized rather distractedly, slightly taller than he was now.

"Don't give me that bantha poodoo, Kenobi," she said indignantly, taking a step closer. "Anakin is Darth Vader. And you've known that for 17 years, haven't you?"

He forced himself to hold his ground, "The good man that was Anakin Skywalker was destroyed on Mustafar, Ahsoka. He's more machine now than man, twisted and evil."

He had tried, he truly had tried to call back the young, newly turned Darth Vader from his madness. He had tried. Padme had tried. Both had failed. All that was left was to clean up the mess.

A mess of his own making. He could have ... he _should _have made sure the man was dead, not just burned to oblivion. His brother had screamed his hatred and Obi-Wan had only given empty words in return; he had not been merciful enough to plunge his saber into his former apprentice's torso.

Why? Why hadn't he taken the minute to kill the man? Why?

(Because in spite of himself, he still loved Anakin.)

Kenobi looked up, aware that he had been silent for too long, lost in his own dismal thoughts.

"Did you know that Anakin murdered an entire village of Tuskens here, Obi-Wan?" the Togruta asked gently.

Obi-Wan shrugged wearily, "I did not, but it hardly surprises me. He has pillaged entire civilizations since he fell to the Dark Side."

She sighed, even as she shook her head slowly, "No, before that, when his mother died at the hands of the Tuskens. He massacred the entire village, men, women and children."

Kenobi froze now in shock, his blue eyes wide, "No ... no, I did not. Did he tell you about it?"

She shook her head again, "Padme knew, but I did not. His mother died after weeks of torture, you know? He gave into his anger after her demise. So he was inflamed by the power of the Dark Side at least once long before he Fell completely."

Obi-Wan bit his lip, his thoughts a confusing swirl of self–hatred and sorrow and bitter regret. Shmi Skywalker had lived a slave until her short term freedom and happy marriage, only to be taken by the local sandpeople and murdered. He had long regretted his lack of support for Anakin when he had dreamed of his mother in danger. Now he felt even worse. Was that the first step in the young man's Fall?

"I didn't know that," he said, drinking a sip of water in an attempt to calm himself.

He took a cleansing breath, "I deeply regret many things, Ahsoka. This is merely one more failure on my part, that I was unaware of Anakin's unstable mental state. It ... it hardly matters now. Anakin is completely dead, only Vader remains."

She looked at him for a long moment, her eyes narrowed thoughtfully, "For your sake, and mine, and the twins, and Padme, I hope you are incorrect about that. Because Padme and the twins are with Vader."

His heart seemed to seize in his chest, his breath caught in his throat.

"Oh no."

"Oh yes," Ahsoka said with a wry smile, sitting back down. "I received a coded message from Leia, and if I'm reading it right, she and Luke showed up on Imperial Center, marched into Vader's palace, introduced themselves, and asked him to help them free Padme, who was in Imperial custody. He did so, and now they are all together on the _Devastator_, Vader's Star Destroyer."

He knew he was pale, and he sat down before he could faint. After 17 years of struggle and toil, he had lost both twins.

"Then there is no hope," he said numbly.

Anakin's former apprentice groaned aloud even as she rolled her eyes, "Were you always so dramatic, Kenobi? The message also said that Vader just blew up a secret Imperial installation on Scarif. He's turned against Palpatine."

She sighed now, "I don't know what is going on in his confused brain, but ... but he's not the man he was even a few months ago. The very fabric of the Force is shifting."

The old Jedi stared at her incredulously. It was impossible, _impossible,_ for anyone to return from the Dark Side. He leaned into the Force, seeking wisdom, only to run into a hard, foreign barrier in his mind.

"Don't do that," Ahsoka scolded. "Vader is on his way here to Tatooine with the rest of the family, and if he senses you are here he'll probably go full bore rancor. I presume that he sustained his injuries in a fight with you, so I'm guessing you are up there on his list of least favorite people."

"Yes," Kenobi agreed, ignoring the slight humor of her comment. "I cut off his remaining three limbs, and left him to burn to death in the lava flows of Mustafar. He must hate me."

Tano's eyes were sorrowful now, "That was cruel."

Obi-Wan Kenobi turned away, unable to meet her gaze, "Yes. Yes, it was."

"Poor Skyguy," Ahsoka said softly.

/-

_ The Lars Farm_

_8 hours later_

_(4 in the morning, local time)_

The incoming proximity alarm woke Beru Lars up out of a deep sleep. She lifted her head from her pillow in surprise, then rolled quickly out of bed.

"Beru?" her husband Owen asked in a husky tone.

"I'll take care of it, Owen," she assured him. "Go back to sleep. You had an exhausting day."

He grunted his thanks and turned over in bed, even as she left the bedroom and quickly checked the incoming transmission. The code made her heart jump, and she glanced toward the bedroom she shared with her husband. It was Padme! The head of Dalam Enterprises had sent a message several weeks ago that she was coming to Tatooine, but since then the Lars had heard no further news of her. It had disturbed and worried Beru more than she knew. But it appeared that Padme was safe. Maybe Beru_ should_ wake up Owen. But no, there had been numerous problems with the vaporators recently and Owen had an important meeting with the Darklighters directly after noon today. Her husband really did need his sleep.

Beru quickly donned her day robes and strode quickly toward the kitchen, though she detoured to turn on the outer lights to make it easy for her guests to find their way down the steps into the main house. What did she have on hand to eat at this hour? Padme and her associates might be hungry. It would take at least a few minutes for the group to walk from the typical landing area to the main habitation, and in the meantime she could rustle up some blue milk, dweezel sticks, and pallies.

Beru was carrying food and drink to the dining room table when she heard approaching voices. With a smile, she placed the items down and walked quickly towards the outer door, whereupon she felt a surge of delighted surprise. First down the steps was a slight form whom she recognized as her beloved _nephew. _Behind him was the robed and hooded figure of his mother Padme.

"Aunt Beru!" Luke said, jumping down the last few steps and running forward to throw his arms around her.

"Luke?!" she responded, her face split with a gigantic smile. "Oh Luke, it is so good to see you. You've grown since I saw you last!"

"At least some," her nephew responded with a chuckle, drawing her into the dining room. "Is anyone else up?"

"No," she replied, guiding her guests to the table, "Owen has had an exhausting week and the children are crabby if they are woken up too early. Do you need to talk to your uncle now?"

"No, no," Luke said with a smile, and turned to the hooded figure, who reached up to push back the hood and reveal her face. "Aunt Beru, may I introduce you to Leia Organa?"

Beru Lars stared in disbelief. She had thought this woman was Padme as they were of the same height and even moved similarly, but this was a young woman of Luke's age, with dark brown eyes and hair and quite incredible beauty.

"Welcome!" Beru said quickly, reaching out a weathered hand. "It's an honor to meet you. Er, are you Princess Leia Organa of Alderaan, by any chance?"

The young woman nodded, "Indeed. My parents haven't arrived yet, have they?"

Beru's eyes widened, "No. Are ... you, uh, expecting them?"

"Yes," Luke said, striding toward the table and sinking down even as he reached for a pallie and took a joyful bite. "Thank you for the food, Aunt Beru. I have never lost my taste for Tatooine food. Leia, please, sit down and eat."

The girl lowered herself into a chair, while Beru took the one next to her.

"Where is your mother?" she asked worriedly.

Luke bit his lip and glanced at Leia, then sighed, "She's still on the ship with ... Aunt Beru, this is going to be a total shock, but she's on the ship with ... with my father."

Beru Whitesun Lars stared at her nephew, then at the girl, then back at Luke.

"Anakin is dead," she said softly.

Luke shook his head, even as he quickly wiped off a sticky hand and reached over to clasp his aunt's hand in his own, "No, Aunt Beru. He's not dead. I guess Mom didn't tell you – and I don't blame her – she thought it quite likely that ... that my father Anakin Skywalker became Darth Vader."

A pause.

"And she was right."

/-

_Cockpit_

_Nubian Starship_

_Outskirts of Lars Farm_

Darth Vader, Lord of the Sith, stood tall and silent with his hands clasped behind him, his mask turned to the cockpit front window. The eastern sky was glowing faintly as the first of Tatooine's suns reached for the horizon.

It would soon be morning, the beginning of another hellish day of suffocating heat and burning rays and parched sand.

He hated sand.

In spite of himself, his gaze shifted left to where ... to where ...

His mask augmented the light and he could see the small headstone, the only surface acknowledgement of the wonderful, brave, determined woman who had given Anakin Skywalker life.

Whom he had failed.

In spite of himself, his mind flickered to those last moments with Shmi Skywalker. He had freed her, held her in his arms, and she had gasped out a few words of love and joy before dying.

Why did she have to die?

Because he failed her.

The guilt, the anguish, thrust into his bitter heart like a vibroblade and instinctively his memories shifted to those minutes when he had torn through the Tusken camp, murdering every male, female, and child.

As it should be. They had deserved it for taking his mother, for repulsing her rescue party, for torturing her for no reason, for murdering her.

He had never cared to return to Tatooine after her death, but any Tuskens he met would die at his hand now. They were all _animals_. He _hated_ them.

"Anakin?" a voice queried softly.

He spun around rapidly, his hand reaching for his lightsaber, and Padme flinched slightly in surprise. She was wearing her sleep robe and her dark hair flowed casually around her shoulders.

She was so beautiful.

"Padme," he replied apologetically. "I thought you were asleep."

"The ship is shaking," she said, her eyes wide, her face concerned.

He reached out through the Force and was surprised to realize his own rage was fueling the tremors in the ship. Her fear quenched his anger, and the trembling subsided.

"I apologize for alarming you," he said carefully. "Please, Padme, either sit down or go back to bed."

She stared at him for a long moment, then smiled a little and sat down at her usual seat.

(For this had been her ship, long ago. Palpatine himself had retrieved it and given it to Vader as a most bitter gift, but now, yes, now he was grateful to have Padme's ship back.)

"Where are the twins?" she asked softly.

"They went ahead to talk to the Lars," he said rather awkwardly.

"What's wrong, Ani?" she asked, her expression soft, her eyes luminous.

"Nothing," he replied. Too quickly.

"Is it your mother?"

How did she know him so well even after all these years, after terrible decisions and Darkness and Palpatine had torn them apart? How?

He did not reply, but a moment later she was on her feet and had her slender arms wrapped round his bulky chest piece.

"Poor Anakin," she whispered softly.

/-

_Lars's kitchen_

"And Aunt Beru, prepare yourself for another shock. Leia is my twin sister."


	10. Chapter 10

_Galen Erso's office_

_The _Devastator

_In orbit around Excarga_

The door chime pulled Galen Erso out of deep thought. After a few seconds to allow himself focus on the real world, he reached out to open the door. It slid aside to reveal the slim form of Captain Piett.

Erso rose to his feet and nodded courteously, "Captain."

"Engineer Erso," the uniformed man responded politely. "I merely wanted to ascertain whether you have all the information you need."

A vicious smile made Erso look positively feral, "Thank you, Captain. Yes, I appreciate your assistance and am making excellent progress in fulfilling Lord Vader's directives."

"Very good," Piett responded, though there was a slight tic in his right eye. The man nodded and then turned to go.

"A moment, please, Captain," Galen requested.

"Yes?"

"May I inquire ...?" he began, then paused before continuing. "What are your thoughts about our current course?"

He was not a politician, but he had sense enough to make this question general. If Piett chose to speak vaguely, he would respect that.

Piett turned to face him directly and stared at him for a long moment, "I assume you question whether I approve of this open treason against the Emperor?"

So much for being vague.

"Do you?" Galen inquired with some concern. If Piett was uncertain as to where his loyalties lay, he could quickly betray them all to the Emperor. The _Devastato_r was currently stationed way out in the Outer Rim and it was likely could remain concealed for some time so long as no one on board sent out a message of her whereabouts.

The captain sighed and walked over to the transparisteel window through which Excarga floated serenely in the distance.

"I believe I passed the point of no return some time ago, Engineer Erso," the man said softly. "Even if I was inclined to betray Lord Vader, and I am not, the Emperor's rage against anyone peripherally involved in Vader's actions would be thorough. None of us would survive, and many of us would die slowly, notably me."

Erso nodded sympathetically though Piett was still facing away, "I thought the same thing when Vader revealed the presence of ..."

"His family?" Piett continued, turning now to face him with a wry smile gracing his face. "Yes, that was quite a surprise. A wife and twin children, one of whom is the sovereign princess of Alderaan. Lord Vader has surprised me many a time, but never quite so completely."

Galen Erso took a deep breath, "Do you believe we have much of a chance of succeeding in this insane quest to topple the Emperor?"

Piett's smile was now grim, "Oh yes, Engineer Erso. I believe Lord Vader will prevail. He is incredibly powerful, the Imperial Navy trusts him far more than the Emperor, and now he has his own gifted children at his side. Yes, we will win this war."

/-

_Guest House_

_Lars' Residence_

_Tatooine_

_6 hours later_

"We have a plant for you!" Shmi Lars squealed, running onto the main living area and pointing with pride at a small plant residing under a mesh screen. "It's green!"

Queen Breha Organa smiled and knelt down on the floor next to the 6 year old daughter of the Larses, "It _is_ green, Shmi. How beautiful!"

"Ned doit," Shmi's 2 year old brother Cadon stated firmly before plugging his mouth with his thumb.

"I'm sorry," Breha said with a puzzled glance. "I don't understand, young one."

"He said," Shmi explained seriously, "that it needed dirt. Not sand. We bought some special dirt for it."

Breha glanced at Leia and saw her own amazement mirrored in her daughter's eyes. To think of a place where dirt was purchased!

"It's very nice dirt," Leia said with a smile at her young ... cousin, she supposed. Yes, that was right, cousin – by family ties if not by blood. "And the plant is lovely."

"But I'm sure that our guests need some time to refresh themselves and talk among themselves, children," Beru Lars said with a smile. "Come back to the main house and I'll give you a blue milk pudding snack."

Both children's expressions morphed from indignation to delight within seconds.

"Boo mik pudden!" Cadon yelped with delight, and raced off down the tunnel toward his family's personal quarters with his sister in hot pursuit.

"Let us know if you need anything at all," Beru said sincerely as she hurried away. Breha Organa found herself smiling with a mixture of fond memory and sympathy. Leia, at age 2, had been quite a handful and the Organas had had servants to help keep track of her. Beru was no doubt fearful that even a short delay would result in blue milk pudding all across the kitchen.

"These quarters are surprisingly spacious," Bail Organa stated, walking into the room from the kitchen area. "I confess to being surprised."

Leia nodded as she passed him on her way to the kitchen in search of drinks. "Padme gave the Lars sufficient credits such that they were able to expand the farm and put in these guest quarters. I think Owen was a bit concerned that it was an act of charity, but Padme convinced him that it was more a business deal. Sometimes her employees need a place to stay on Tatooine and Mos Eisley is a wretched hive of scum and villainy. She wanted a place relatively close to the city where her people could rest and relax in safety. There are also proximity alarms and various defensive measures in place in case the Tusken Raiders or other creeps show up."

Bail nodded in approval even as he put his arms around his slight daughter, "I'm glad you are safe, Leia. Your mother and I were quite frightened with that stunt you pulled on Imperial City."

Leia returned the embrace before she grabbed some cups and filled them with water from the sink, "I am your daughter, but I am also the daughter of Anakin Skywalker and Padme Dalam. I'm afraid I'm destined to do crazy things on occasion."

Breha sighed even as she sat down on a teal couch and took the drink from her daughter's hand, "I know you felt you had to and it did work out, of course, but what if you had been wrong, Leia?"

"About Vader formerly being Anakin Skywalker?" Leia asked with a lift of one eyebrow. "I would have tried to kill him. Not that I would have succeeded, probably, but if he had gone after Luke I would have tried. And I do shield very well – he says so. In any case, it doesn't matter. We were right, and we're safe where Vader is concerned, anyway. Vader adores Padme and Padme adores us so we're under his protection now."

Bail sat down on a chair and gestured to his daughter to sit next to his wife, "How_ is_ Padme, Leia?"

The girl sighed even as her mother turned and began unplaiting her hair, which was rather a mess for the princess of Alderaan.

"Thanks, Mother," Leia said with a soft smile, before turning her gaze on her father. "Physically, she's much improved. Padme is still tired, of course, and has a few scars from the ... the shock prod, but bacta and the best medical attention has done miracles. Emotionally, she is strong much of the time but I know she isn't sleeping well. Vader or Luke or I make sure we are near her every night because if she has a nightmare, it helps to have one of us nearby."

Bail exchanged an incredulous glance with Breha. The concept of Darth Vader being of comfort during a nightmare was truly astounding.

"And how is Vader doing?" Breha asked quietly, her hands deftly wrapping her daughter's hair up in an elaborate bun.

Leia shrugged just a little, "I would say in some ways, very well. I mean, he is not a calm person and he's still Dark, but he does adore my mother ... Padme, I mean."

"We understand, Leia," Bail said reassuringly, scooting forward slightly. "You're in a strange situation. We are your parents and you will always be our precious daughter, but you have a new and complicated set of parents as well."

The girl smiled gratefully, then frowned, "Truthfully, I didn't realize how much he hates Tatooine. He was born here and was a slave for 9 years, and his mother died here. It's a difficult place for him and he's more on edge here than he was on _Devastator_. I pushed him to come here, and Luke and Padme both say this is the last place the Emperor would look for him, so it's a good choice. I just hope he can hold it together."

The Organas exchanged another glance, this one concerned.

"I hope so too," Breha stated softly.

/-

_Emperor Palpatine's Throne Room_

_Imperial Palace_

_Imperial City_

_Imperial Center_

_4 hours later_

Darth Sidious, leader of the known galaxy, stared in disbelief at the holopad in his hands.

Padme Amidala Naberrie Skywalker.

She had died 17 years ago. Sidious had sucked away her life essence and poured it to her broken, burned husband, saving his life.

She was dead.

Except that she wasn't. It had taken all too long for his security analysts to determine what actually had happened on the _Sovereign_ when Tarkin had supposedly been attacked by assassins.

That was, apparently, close enough to the truth. The assassin in question was Darth Vader, who had charged into the cell block, destroying everyone in his way, rescued his ex-wife after days of torture, then carried his ex- wife – no, his wife, for Vader had thought her dead, and thus there had never been a divorce ...

Vader had carried _his wife_ to his shuttle and lifted off with Tarkin as a hostage? A dead body? Palpatine didn't know, because Vader had done a relatively thorough job of destroying the holocams in the shuttle bay and the cell blocks. There were a few cams which survived enough to provide most of this disastrous story. It had taken far too long for Ozzel to provide the necessary data, and the bloated admiral would pay soon enough.

So ... Vader had found his wife, turned on his master, traveled to Eadu for information, collected the data file of the Death Star schematics from the Scarif data vaults, analyzed them (no doubt with Galen Erso's help) and had then destroyed the Death Star.

The Death Star was no more.

Millions of man and slave hours wasted. Billions of credits spent for nothing. Literally decades of work lost in one instant cataclysmic explosion.

Darth Sidious was _furious._

He allowed his anger to rattle the Throne Room and he sensed even his own stoic guards cringing in terror. Their fear fueled the Dark Side within him, and he felt a temporary, pleasant, darkening of his spirits.

Palpatine forced himself to breathe steadily for a full minute, to let his Force power gather itself into a cohesive orb in his own black soul. His first step was obvious, to find Vader and kill him, slowly but thoroughly. But _Devastator _was missing. He truly had no idea where his former apprentice had fled after destroying the Death Star over Scarif.

Palpatine closed his eyes, reached out with all his immense strength, attempting to follow the bond between master and apprentice. It was like a blaze of frozen fire in his mind, stretching out into the cosmos, towards ... towards ...

He bit back a frustrated curse. He was being blocked. The bond between Master and Apprentice was now frozen and encased on a dark fog. He could go no further. He would need to use more conventional means to find his wayward apprentice. Perhaps, likely in fact, Vader had scurried to his wife's current home world. Wherever that was.

He needed more information about Dalam Enterprises, as clearly Padme Naberrie Skywalker was involved in that errant company in some way.

He sighed and reached toward his com.

Then froze as a new, horrifying, fascinating though crossed his evil mind.

If Padme Skywalker had survived, what about the child she carried?

/-

_ Outside the Lars Home_

_ Tatooine_

"How dare you?" Darth Vader snarled.

"And hello to you too," Ahsoka Tano said with a sly smile. "And also, you're welcome."

"You have no right to interfere," Vader snapped back, his posture intimidating, his gaze boring into his former apprentice's face.

The Togruta shrugged in a thoroughly insolent manner, "You might be able to take care of yourself, Skyguy, but I'm going to protect the twins and Padme and the last thing they need is Palpatine coming down on them."

"Ahsoka!"

Former master and former apprentice turned toward the guest house as Luke and Leia came running out into the blazing heat of the twin suns.

"It's so good to see you, Ahsoka!" Luke yelled, throwing his arms around the taller woman. Leia, behind him, waited for an impatient moment before elbowing her brother aside to get her own hugs in.

"It's very good to see you as well," Tano said with a smile and a hint of moisture in her eye. "I'm relieved to see you both are well."

The twins exchanged quick glances and both smiled with surprising synchronicity.

"We are very well," Leia said softly, even as she pulled her hood over her head to protect her dark hair from the blazing rays of the suns.

"And why are you and Father fighting?" Luke continued with an accusing glare at his father.

"My former apprentice," the Dark Lord said with an irritable huff, "took it upon herself to attempt to shield me when the Emperor tried to find me through our Force bond."

"Not attempted to shield him, I _did_ shield him," Tano said with a snarky scowl. "I assure you I did help, Vader."

"I had the situation under control," her former master said coldly.

"Palpatine was trying to find you?" Leia demanded, her eyes wide.

A pause.

"Yes," her biological father stated carefully, unnerved by his daughter's clear distress. "But he failed."

"Thanks to me, partly," Ahsoka said with a grin and an insouciant pat on her former master's arm. "I have sweated blood and tears learning how to shield, not just on my own behalf but on behalf of the twins on occasion. Why do you think I was hovering around Luke for so many years, huh? I didn't want that supernova Light attracting the attention of someone nefarious."

"Like me?" Vader demanded angrily. "Like his own father?!"

Now Ahsoka looked sad, and her tone was mildly apologetic, "I truly didn't know you were Anakin."

"That name no longer has any meaning for me," the Dark Lord returned glacially.

"Ok, Ok," Luke said quickly, putting up his hands in a placating manner. "I think we should all get under cover and we can discuss the next steps. Ahsoka, Leia and I are very happy to see you, and I know Mom will be happy when she wakes up from her nap."

Ahsoka put an arm around her young friend and walked toward the Nubian starship resting in the sand nearby, "How is your mother?"

Leia hurried up to the other side of the Togruta warrior and put her own arm around her, "She's doing better. Not great, but better."

"I am most thankful," Ahsoka said gravely.


	11. Chapter 11

_Main Cabin_

_Nubian Starship_

_Outskirts of Lars Farm_

"R2D2!" Ahsoka exclaimed at the sight of the small, cylindrical droid. "Do you remember me? Ahsoka Tano?"

The small droid tilted his body to inspect her carefully with his glowing eye, then beeped and blatted at some length.

"Does that mean yes?" Tano asked.

"I think he said something about sand," Luke replied, lowering himself onto the couch and pulling his sister down beside him.

"_It is good to see you again, Ahsoka Tano," _Vader translated,_ "but there is no need to bring so much sand into Madame Padme's vessel._"

"Father, you amaze me on many levels," Luke stated, "but your ability to understand binary without a translator truly astonishes me."

Vader smiled behind his mask in amusement, even as he bent a glare on his former apprentice, "R2D2 is entirely correct that you seem to have copious quantities of sand on your person, Ahsoka."

The Togruta tilted her head and smiled, "And you are correct that the sands of Tatooine are pervasive, annoying, and tedious. I used to think you were just whining about sand, but I confess you are correct."

"I love lying on the sands near Lake Aldera," Leia said with a reminiscent smile, "but it's different somehow."

"There's lots of water nearby," Luke pointed out.

"True," Leia responded, then turned her head as a door opened and Padme stepped out of her sleeping cabin.

"Ahsoka!" Padme cried out. "It's so very good to see you!"

Tano strode forward and carefully encircled the much smaller female human with her long arms, even as her lekku shifted slightly to graze Padme's shoulders in a reassuring manner.

"Dear Padme," Ahsoka said softly, "I'm so sorry that I wasn't here to protect you when you were taken."

"Nonsense," Padme said briskly, though she raised a hand to dash away tears. "You have a life aside from protecting us, and I certainly had no idea my supplier on Tatooine would sell me out to the Empire. Ani feels guilty, Luke feels guilty, for all I know Leia feels guilty and none of you are at fault. I'm just so thankful that ... that ... my children and my husband were willing to sacrifice much to find me. The twins, especially, took great risks."

"We love you, Mom," Luke stated firmly. "No possible risk was too high to save you."

Ahsoka was still staring intently, prompting Padme to say firmly, "I'm fine, Ahsoka. I am."

Anakin's former padawan growled aloud and shook her head, "How I hate that word, _fine_. No, Padme, you are not fine. They hurt you, didn't they?"

There was a dreadful pause and Padme glanced nervously at her husband.

"She was interrogated for days," the Dark Lord stated. And the ship began trembling.

"Stop that," Ahsoka ordered her former master, even as she reached out with the Force to tighten the shields around them all. "You don't want Palpatine to find you in the throes of a Force frenzy."

Vader tamped down his emotions with extreme difficulty even as Ahsoka nodded with understanding.

"I see the problem, Padme" she observed. "You can't talk about what happened to you because Skyguy here will lose what's left of his mind."

"I don't want to talk about it at all," the former queen insisted, standing up straighter.

Her old friend gazed at her thoughtfully, then sighed softly, "You will need to work through this, Padme. But now is not the best time, obviously. Ok, let's get practical. What's the plan?"

"We will kill Palpatine," Vader growled.

"That's a great goal," Tano replied. "And how do you intend to fulfill that goal? The old gill-goat has been warding off assassination attempts since before the twins were born."

Padme sat down elegantly on a nearby chair and smiled, even as her eyes brightened with some of their usual fire, "We have a few ideas. Have a seat, Ahsoka, and let's talk."

_/-_

_Imperial Throne Room_

_Imperial Palace_

_Imperial City_

_Imperial Center_

_4 hours later_

Princess Leia Organa of Alderaan.

Emperor Palpatine stared at the holo of the girl for a long minute, sifting the myriad streams of the Force with all his focused power. Because as hard as it was to believe and accept, he had missed something of incredible, vital importance.

It had been only 8 hours earlier that the technical data had arrived from the _Sovereign_, which was still in orbit around Scarif, still under the command of the incompetent Admiral Ozzel.

The Emperor's own technicians, the very best the Empire boasted, had fallen on the data as if their lives depended on it, because their lives indeed hung in the balance. Palpatine's rage at the destruction of the Death Star had not abated, though it was now under rigid control. He was focused, with all his being, on finding Vader and punishing him. And perhaps there was something of use from the_ Sovereign _associated with Padme Skywalker's rescue by her husband from the Star Destroyer's dark detention blocks.

Something like the images of a girl, dressed as an Imperial officer, with her face caught in profile in a few holocams, with the best comp programs collecting pinpoints of information from reflections on walls and then combining them to create the image of ...

Leia Organa of Alderaan, who had accompanied Darth Vader to save Padme Amidala Naberrie Skywalker. Who was a politician, and a Senator. Who was slight and beautiful, with dark hair and dark eyes, so much like the former queen of Naboo.

Indeed, the child of Anakin Skywalker and his wife lived.

With a furrowed brow, Sidious shifted his attention to the evening sky of Imperial City. The atmosphere was filled with ships coming and going, and Sidious could vaguely sense the existence of thousands of people scurrying hither and yon nearby the palace.

The vast majority of them were Force blind. A rare few were mild Force sensitives. Fewer than one in a million had the power to become a Jedi Knight or an Emperor's Hand. And only someone like himself, or his (former) apprentice Darth Vader, had the Force capacity and mental acuity to become a Sith Lord.

Again, the senior Sith turned his gaze to the image of Leia Organa.

It was an unpleasant shock to realize that Padme's missing child had been right under his very nose in the Senate for so many years. It infuriated and enraged him that Bail Organa had been so proud, so arrogant, so confident, so _bold_ that he had permitted his stolen daughter (Anakin Skywalker's child. Vader's child!) to stride the halls of the Senate.

Would the daughter of Anakin Skywalker have his power?

On one hand, it seemed most unlikely. The Skywalker line was adulterated with that of Padme Amidala Naberrie who, while strong willed and brilliant, had been Force blind. And the Emperor knew Leia Organa, though not well. He had met her, spoken to her. He had never sensed a hint of Force ability.

And yet, Skywalker/Vader had such power that it seemed likely the young woman had at least some capability in the Force.

Furthermore, Anakin Skywalker's greatest flaw had always been attachment – to his mother, his wife, his master, and now, no doubt, his child. The Jedi were right that attachment was a weakness. The Emperor had no attachment to anyone but himself, his power, his might, his glory.

The senior Sith lifted one hand and stroked his chin, even as he nodded thoughtfully.

He needed to find, and capture, and use, Leia Organa.

/-

_Luke Skywalker's cabin_

_Nubian Starship_

_Outskirts of Lars's farm_

_Dawn_

_3 days later_

"_Luke!_" the voice screamed in his mind.

Luke woke up and was so startled that he fell out of his narrow bed. He lurched to his feet and ran out of his cabin. Another door slid open as he exited the ship and he heard his father's feet storming rapidly behind him down the ramp.

A minute later, the youth was racing through the door of the guest quarters of the Lars's farm. Leia was there in the main living area, along with her parents, and her eyes were wide, her face ashen.

"Leia, what's wrong?" he demanded, studying her carefully. She didn't seem hurt.

"Look," she whispered, pointing toward the holoscreen on the wall. Luke turned to stare in bewilderment. The images were of smoke and fire and crushed buildings but it couldn't be Tatooine as there was no sand, so what was going on?

"This is Relinka Spetzv," a feminine voice stated over the horrifying images. "To reiterate our top story, there have been a series of explosions in the capital city of Aldera, Alderaan. The source of the explosions is unknown, but it took place in the Kanani business district and many hundreds, perhaps thousands, are missing and presumed dead or injured. Queen Breha of Alderaan and her husband, Viceroy Bail, or reportedly off planet and the royal advisor Lanton Kale is coordinating rescue and relief efforts. According to the Imperial Security Chief Ysanne Isard, there are concerns that the explosions on Aldera are part of a planned terrorist attack by the fledgling, traitorous Rebel Alliance. We will be updating this story frequently as further details emerge. In other news, music superstar Lady Alana will perform tonight ..."

The holo clicked off and Queen Breha Organa turned to the assembled individuals, "Bail and I will leave for Alderaan within the hour."

"You cannot do that," Vader said flatly.

The queen of Alderaan stepped forward, her eyes flashing with outrage, "My people are suffering, Lord Vader. Perhaps that means nothing to you, but we have a responsibility to them! They need our leadership during this terrible crisis."

"And Palpatine knows that," the Dark Lord replied coldly.

There was a pause.

"You mean," Bail said with a sudden catch of breath, "that the Emperor is behind this?"

The (former?) Sith forced himself to remain calm, "Of course he is. Do you not understand? He has discovered Leia's identity as my biological daughter."

There was a horrified pause and Leia lurched to her feet, "I ... I don't understand. How could he possibly know that?"

Vader turned toward his daughter and forcibly gentled his voice as much as possible, "There was always a danger, Leia. I rebelled against the Emperor after saving your mother, and while I disabled as many holocams in the _Sovereign_ as possible, there is no doubt that Padme's identity was uncovered from her original arrest. From there, it was an obvious step for Palpatine to wonder whether our child survived, and no doubt Palpatine determined your identity somehow. I am thankful that no one knew that your mother carried twins, so Luke's identity is likely safe for now."

He paused for a moment, then continued carefully, "Palpatine wants to capture you, Leia, to use you against me. He knows that as Padme's daughter, and the Organas' adopted daughter, you have great commitment to your people. If the Organas return to Alderaan, Palpatine will arrest them, accuse them of crimes, and ..."

He trailed away as Leia's face grew white with horror, "Execute them? He would do that?"

The great mask shook gently, "No, for execution would grieve you but remove his ability to use the Organas against you."

"I believe Lord Vader is saying that we would be used as hostages to force you to surrender to the Emperor," Bail said softly, his own face drawn with grief.

Leia put her hand up to her mouth, her eyes wide with distress, "And then, what, he would use me to get to you, Lord Vader?"

The gigantic shoulders shrugged, "Perhaps, though once he realizes you are powerful in the Force, he will likely attempt to turn you to the Dark Side, to take you as an apprentice to replace me."

Now her face was a study in fury.

"I will never turn to the Dark Side!" she shouted.

The cyborg was silent for a long moment, then sighed loudly enough that it was picked up by the vocoder, "I turned to the Dark Side in an attempt to save your mother from death in childbirth, my daughter. I had visions, repeatedly, of her dying in agony. I was willing to sell my soul, to betray the Jedi Order, to murder children, to save her. Imagine, Leia, how you would feel if your beloved parents were being tortured live, on the Holonet, if you could feel their pain and agony through the Force, day after day, week after week."

The girl staggered, and Luke wrapped an arm around her even as he lowered his twin to the couch.

"Mama, Papa, please don't go," Leia begged. "Please. He's right, I can't ... I cannot endure such a thing."

Bail was also pale, but he forced himself to speak, "If you are right about all this, Lord Vader, and I believe you are, what will happen if we do not return to Alderaan? What will Palpatine do next?"

There was a hesitant pause and then a new voice spoke from behind them.

"Palpatine will increase the pressure," Padme Dalam stated coldly from the doorway where she was now standing with Ahsoka at her back. "This time it was a series of explosions, next time a Star Destroyer will fall from the sky and destroy a continent, or there will be an unexpected release of a biological weapon which will kill millions. Such is the way of the Sith, of the Emperor, of the Empire."

Leia's eyes were full of tears, her Force sense so full of panicked grief that Vader, Luke, and Ahsoka all reached in to fortify her shields.

"What can we do, then, to save our people?" she sobbed, her eyes on Vader.

It was her biological mother who spoke, though.

"We accelerate our plans," the former queen said, her posture erect. "Palpatine must die within the month."

Her husband shook his head slowly, "The twins are not ready, Padme. They need more training for our plan to succeed. They are powerful, but not ready yet to battle the Emperor and his protectors."

"Maybe Obi-Wan Kenobi can help us," Ahsoka stated with determination.

/-

_Author Note: Thanks for your patience on this chapter. It was fighting me like a vicious loth-cat but I prevailed and got it done. _


	12. Chapter 12

_Outside Obi-Wan's Hut_

_Jundland Wastes_

_Tatooine_

_Evening_

Obi-Wan Kenobi lifted his face, relishing the comparative cool of the Tatooine evening. Tatoo I showed merely a sliver above the horizon, and Tatoo II's rays were weary and red as they penetrated Tatooine's atmosphere. After the blazing heat of the day, it was most welcome.

With a sigh, the old Jedi turned his gaze toward the deserts to the east. Tatooine, in spite of her minimal population and truly dreadful climate, had proven a surprisingly important planet in that she was the birthplace of the powerful, famous, _infamous _Darth Vader, formerly Anakin Skywalker.

Obi-Wan Kenobi had failed young Anakin Skywalker in so many ways. In those first few days and weeks and months after the fall of the Jedi, the Fall of Anakin Skywalker, Kenobi had moved through life in a numb daze. He had focused on the protection of the child Luke Skywalker and ignored the emotional chaos of so many deaths, so much loss, so much oppression, so much failure.

But as the years had gone by, Kenobi had allowed himself to think more about the days gone by when he and Anakin had been master and apprentice, then partners and, he thought, friends.

Brothers. He had thought they were brothers, not by blood but by commitment and devotion, and yes, love.

He had loved Anakin. Loved him. And then his brother had turned on the Jedi, turned on him, murdered children, attacked his own wife and their unborn twins, fought him in the lava flows of Mustafar.

And Obi-Wan Kenobi, Jedi Master, had won that battle, had sliced off his "brother's" legs and one remaining arm, and had left him to burn to death in lava.

To die screaming his hatred, with his eyes yellow with rage and darkness.

How many times had Kenobi wanted to go back, to see if he could reach the Darkness inside of Anakin, to turn him back?

How many times had Kenobi wanted to go back, to throw his lightsaber and plunge it into his former apprentice's torso, to quench the last bit of life in that Dark Man?

But he had not. Why?

Because he loved Anakin. And Padme had been in danger. He could not finish the job but had left the molten rock to do its work.

But Palpatine had raced to Mustafar in time to save Darth Vader, to encase him in a black life support suit, to ensure that his young apprentice and slave would continue to serve the Sith Master.

Until now. Now ... much was uncertain where the Skywalkers were concerned, though Kenobi was quite sure where his own life was heading.

"Are you all right, Obi-Wan?" Ahsoka asked as she exited the ochre hut to stand beside the old man.

Kenobi shrugged slightly even as he focused his gaze on the distant cloud of sand heading toward them, "I am well enough. I am ready."

He sensed, rather than saw, Tano roll her eyes in exasperation.

"He's not going to kill you, Obi-Wan," she stated confidently.

The old Jedi sighed aloud, "I think, Ahsoka, that you foolishly minimize his hatred for me."

The Togruta put a comforting hand on the man's shoulder.

"No, Obi-Wan," she said patiently. "I am aware that he hates your guts and wants to kill you, preferably slowly and unpleasantly."

Kenobi winced slightly and turned to give her a thoroughly irritated glance.

"Thank you, Ahsoka. That is very reassuring."

"The thing is, though," she continued serenely, "Skyguy loves Padme and the twins more than he hates you. And he agrees with me and Padme that you are committed to the safety of his family. Palpatine, on the other hand, only wishes to use and/or destroy his wife and children. Therefore, he will hold off on killing you at least until Palpatine is dead."

"Wonderful," Obi-Wan replied drily. "So I will assist in killing the Emperor, and then I can die happy."

"Well," the former padawan said with a chuckle, "killing Palpatine should make you happy. But don't worry, the twins and I will advocate for you. I think Padme likes you pretty well too, though she's mad about the whole letting her husband burn up in the lava thing."

Kenobi shook his head at this but remained silent. The wind picked up slightly, blowing cool air through hair and beard, and the cloud of dust came closer and closer until finally it revealed itself as two closed speeders, which halted a few meters away from his small dwelling.

The first speeder opened and the two young people exited promptly – Luke Skywalker, with blond hair and blue eyes so much like young Anakin, Leia Organa with the dark eyes and lustrous dark locks of her mother. In spite of himself, old Ben's eyes filled with tears. He had failed in countless ways, but the reality that these vibrant souls were alive and of the Light was, at least, some kind of triumph, even if most of the credit went to Padme, the Lars, the Organas, and Ahsoka Tano.

The second speeder halted behind the first. Its hatch lifted to the open position, but it was a full minute before the two occupants exited, and when they did, they were arguing openly.

"I'm just saying," Padme stated loudly enough to be clearly heard, "that you need to let me assist in the negotiations. I understand you're enraged with Kenobi, but we've talked about this for hours and we need him."

"I do not need him. I never have," Darth Vader stated in a tone that would have been sulky in anyone else. With the deep bass vocoder, he merely sounded dangerous and brooding.

"Well, I need him," Padme replied firmly, "and so do Ahsoka and the twins. Therefore, I would kindly request, as your beloved wife, that you don't try to kill him."

The twosome were within three meters of Kenobi and the twins took positions between the old Jedi and his erstwhile apprentice, now bitter enemies.

There was a long pause as Darth Vader, Dark Lord of the Sith, stared coldly at Obi-Wan Kenobi, Jedi Master.

"I ought to kill you right now," the Sith said in a curiously blank tone.

"It's not a very private place for a murder, Darth," Kenobi replied, gesturing at the twins. "I would suggest perhaps that you waylay me in my domicile at some point, without an unappreciative audience."

For another long minute, the only sound was of heavy breathing and the sibilant whisper of the wind through the rocks.

"My wife and children, and my former padawan, believe you can assist in destroying Palpatine," Vader finally grated out. "Are you willing to be part of our mission to kill him?"

Kenobi nodded his head promptly, "It would be my honor. And my pleasure."

Another quiet moment, and then the giant cyborg nodded his great mask, "Very well, Obi-Wan Kenobi. I will not kill you now, but do not imagine that anything you do or say will turn me from my course to eventually deprive you of your life."

"As you wish," Kenobi responded with a relieved bow. Given the last agonizing interaction between the two men, Obi-Wan was rather startled not to have a red blade in his face or torso by now.

"Well, now that that is settled," Padme said in a dry tone, "I'd like to introduce you to the twins, or re-introduce them since you saw them as infants."

Kenobi smiled now, his eyes taking in the welcoming expression of Leia Organa, and the puzzled one of Luke Skywalker.

"Haven't I, uh, seen you before?" Luke asked, his intent blue eyes fixed on the old man's face.

"Have you?" Kenobi inquired with a bland smile.

Luke took a step closer and peered up at the weathered face, then nodded even as his face cleared in understanding.

"I saw you on Siskeen!" the youth exclaimed. "You worked in that junk yard on Kry Street!"

"Indeed I did," Kenobi admitted, his eyebrows raised. "You have a good memory for faces as I was clean shaven at the time, and now I am ..."

"Scruffy and hairy," Ahsoka chimed in, her voice amused. "Truth is, Luke, that Obi-Wan has been following you around since you were born. He was here on Tatooine until your mother came and took you away, and then he went to Siskeen to protect you."

"Protect me from what?" Luke asked in a bewildered way. "Siskeen is nowhere. And what about Leia? Why didn't you protect her?"

Kenobi glanced briefly at Vader, who was looming silently, then looked at Leia.

"My dear princess," he said softly, "you are indeed the very image of your mother."

He looked back at Luke and nodded courteously, "To answer your question, young Luke, your sister shielded in the womb whereas you shone like a supernova in the firmament of the Force. I understand from Ahsoka that she provided early instruction to you on Alderaan to strengthen your shielding, Princess, whereas she did not know Luke's location?"

"I did not," Tano agreed.

"I feared for your safety as you grew in power, Luke, and stayed close by to protect you. When Ahsoka found and trained you to shield, I was able to relax my attention somewhat, but I still stayed near you on Siskeen. It was a safer place for me than the Mid Rim or the Core, given the substantial price on my head."

"And you worked in a junk yard," Vader stated coolly. "Quite ironic, given our first meeting."

Obi-Wan sighed, "It is ironic, I agree."

"Why?" Leia asked practically.

There was a pause before Padme spoke, "We met your father, we met Anakin, in a junk shop in Mon Espa."

Leia opened her mouth to ask more questions, but Ahsoka spoke quickly, "Night is falling and it will get cold soon. Let's move into Obi-Wan's rather dilapidated quarters and discuss the plan to kill Palpatine."

For one last, long moment, the former friends, now enemies, gazed at one another.

"Lead the way, Kenobi," Vader ordered.

/-

_Cadon Lars's room_

_Lars Farm_

"And the Wondrous Woolly Bantha Cub lay down on his bed and went _fast _asleep," Breha Organa read even as she smiled down at the little boy lying on his mattress.

"Read 'gin," Cadon muttered around the thumb in his mouth.

"Your Mama says it's time to sleep, little man," Breha said softly, running her hand gently through the boy's hair.

"O-tay," Cadon murmured even as his eyes fluttered shut.

Breha Organa rose to her feet and quickly left the room, turning the lights off as she went.

Bail Organa met her in the hallway, and Breha heard little Shmi call out, "Goodnight, Uncle Bail!"

"Goodnight, sweetheart," Bail replied, shutting the door and putting an arm around his wife.

Together, they walked into the main living area of the Lars's home, where Beru was sitting sideways on a couch with her feet up, reading a holopad.

"Both children are in bed," Breha told her.

"Thank you so much," Beru responded with a grateful smile. "I don't even hear indignant yelling from Cadon, which is unusual."

"I read him his favorite book five times," the other woman chuckled. "Plus, I think Luke and Leia wore the children out today with their shenanigans. How are you feeling, Beru?"

The younger woman sighed and touched her stomach carefully, then shrugged, "I'm well enough. The nausea should be gone in a few weeks and for now, I'm just enduring. It's a good reason to be sick, anyway."

"Indeed it is," Breha Organa replied, sinking down onto the nearby couch and pulling Bail down with her. She was a queen – wealthy, powerful, a galactic figurehead, but one thing she had never had was the ability to carry a child in her womb.

She admired Beru Lars for her love for her family, her ability and willingness to carve out a life in this desert wasteland. And, she admitted to herself, she envied her a little. Three children ...

Bail, obviously sensing her thoughts, put an arm around her and leaned close enough to breathe into her ear, "We have Leia, my love."

Breha nodded. Yes, they had Leia. If she and Bail had been able to conceive biological children, they would not have adopted Leia.

"Has there been any news from the away team?" Bail asked Beru, using a light tone to cover his concerns about the meeting between Kenobi and Vader.

"I'm getting updates from Luke," Beru said, lifting her holopad slightly. "No blood has been shed, anyway, and Kenobi is willing to help with the mission to kill the Emperor."

"Kenobi is a good man," Bail stated solemnly. "He cares deeply for the people of the galaxy. I'm glad we have him on our side."

Breha leaned up against her husband and took a few deep, cleansing breaths.

"I just hope we can take out Palpatine before our people on Alderaan suffer any more," she sighed.

/-

_Emperor's Throne Room_

_Imperial Palace_

_Imperial City_

_Imperial Center_

**_7 days later_**

Emperor Sheev Palpatine was uneasy.

On the one hand, the evening's activities should be enjoyable. In less than ten minutes, the Galactic Shockball Tournament would begin. This year, the game was being played in the Imperial Thrones Stadium a mere 10 km west of the Imperial Palace. Palpatine's Imperial Thrones would, of course, win. As usual. There would be a riotous party afterwards into the wee hours, and Palpatine had planned to make a brief appearance, to enjoy the applause and veneration and adoration and worship that fed his bitter and shriveled soul.

But now ...

No, he would stay here, in his Throne Room, in safety, until it was time for him to descend to his guarded, protected, shielded bedroom. He had ordered the number of guards to be doubled, and the palace itself was protected by a powerful force field. He would exercise caution. He would remain in safety, even if it was slightly frustrating to miss a celebration he enjoyed.

But the elder Sith sensed that Vader's plans were in motion, and the younger Dark Lord would move against him soon. With the future murky, and the Dark Side sluggish, it would be unwise for Darth Sidious to appear at a party, to be vulnerable to possible attack among a host of guests who could possibly be saboteurs or naïve fools vulnerable to the machinations of Vader and his associates.

So Emperor Palpatine would eat, and drink, and be merry here, in his Throne Room, by himself save for the guards who stood silently along the walls nearby.

And when Vader attacked, and failed, Darth Sidious would find the child Leia Organa, and, provided she was powerful in the Force, turn her to the Dark Side.

The old man allowed a sinister smile to grace his ugly visage. Yes, it would be the greatest form of vengeance, to kill the father and take the child as his own apprentice. Servant. Slave.

With a wave of the Force, Palpatine turned on the large holoscreen even as he turned his throne to face it. The shockball teams were running out onto the stadium surface.

He smiled again, this time with anticipation, and pushed the com button on his throne.

"Send up a bottle of 472 Corellian wine and a slice of moonglow," he demanded.

/-

_Ore Freighter _Mantis

_In near Imperial Center orbit_

"We have you on our screen now, please identify."

"Ore freighter _Mantis_, hauling 18 pods of transparisteel ore for Ore Facility #4."

"Ore freighter _Mantis_, you are cleared to proceed. Reminder that air traffic patterns are altered due to the Shockball Tournament tonight. Ensure that you remain at all times in designated flight lanes."

"Acknowledged," Galen Erso replied, even as he turned off the com.

"Is that a problem?" Luke Skywalker asked worriedly.

"No," Erso replied tersely, even as he plotted the new course on the freighter's nav computer.

"Do not be concerned, Son," Darth Vader said gently, even as he studied the new course.

"Your father landed half a ship on Coruscant successfully, Luke," Obi-Wan Kenobi said with a slight smile. "He's got this. Leia, make sure you don't lapse in your shielding."

"I won't, General Kenobi," Leia said, huffing indignantly. "I am pretty good at this, you know?"

"You are superb, Leia," Ahsoka said, stepping forward to touch the girl on her shoulder. "But it is true that if Palpatine senses your father or, indeed, any of us, it could be a serious problem."

"The twins have the situation under control, Snips," Vader said confidently, allowing his gaze to rest on his precious children. His precious, strong, brave, _powerful _children.

"I have the pods programmed to strike the palace shield generators," Erso stated. "9 minutes until impact."

/-

_The Emperor's Throne Room_

Palpatine speared the last bite of moonglow and placed it in his mouth. The delectable fruit rolled around his tongue, causing his delighted taste buds to send ecstatic messages to his brain.

He was old, and his body failing, but he still enjoyed good food and wine. Even more than the pleasures themselves, he reveled in his ability to have whatever he wanted, wherever he wanted, whenever he wanted, from whomever he wanted.

It was one sign of his power, that he demanded and the galaxy danced to his bidding, save for those idiots foolish enough to oppose him.

Idiots like Darth Vader, formerly Anakin Skywalker. For the second time this minute, Palpatine glanced quickly around the room. The sense of danger persisted, but perhaps it was merely danger in the future. The fabric of the Force had been shifting towards the Light and though Darkness still reigned supreme, things were no longer clear as they once were.

He sighed and took another sip of wine, even as he watched a Corellian Brothers shockball player drop to the ground after being hit by the ball. The Thrones were playing well. The players' very lives _depended _on their playing well, and Imperial credits ensured that the best players in the galaxy were recruited to the Imperial Thrones team.

A sudden alarm pierced the peace of the throne room, and Sidious sat up suddenly, his body tense. What was going on?

The captain of the guard lifted a hand to his helmet, obviously listening, before he hurried forward, his Force sense muddled and confused.

"Master," he reported, "there are reports of an ore freighter which has drifted out of its designated lane en route to the ore facility north of Imperical City. Since many of its pods have already separated, it is recommended that you retreat to the shelter below the palace in case any of those pods accidentally ..."

A sudden explosive whump interrupted these measured words, and the palace shook. A second later, there was another resounding bang, and the main window of the Throne Room shattered inward. In less than a second, there were more thumps and explosions. Palpatine was knocked off his throne and gazed around in shock and dismay as sections of the ceiling began raining down from above.

It had to be Vader!

/

_Ore Freighter Mantis_

_Closing in on the Imperial Palace_

"Aim for that marble balcony, my Lord!" urged Galen Erso. "The architecture is such that the balcony should slice just below the Throne Room and cut off the elevators to the lower floors!"

"Brace yourselves for impact!" Vader ordered his children and former padawan. Kenobi was allowed to be tossed around like a puppet if he chose.

The _Mantis_, divested of the ore pods which had struck and destroyed the shielding around the Imperial Palace, twisted and turned and moved and danced until it hit the balcony at an 8% angle and drove the balcony forward and under the Throne Room floor where Darth Sidious waited to face his destiny.

/-

_Author Note: Thanks again to my dear husband for editing!_


	13. Chapter 13

_Emperor Palpatine's Palace_

_Imperial City_

_Imperial Center_

"Protect the twins, Ahsoka," Vader ordered his former apprentice as he used the Force to push the bent exit door open. The ship had been, of course, badly damaged in the crash into the Emperor's palace, though the augmented nose had withstood the impact such that the occupants, while shaken, were unhurt.

"I will, Skyguy," Tano replied, her usual insouciance entirely absent. Vader knew she loved the twins.

The cyborg and the Togruta leaped carefully to the cracked marble surface of the balcony, then stilled as it shook slightly under their weight.

"You must weigh a ton," Ahsoka stated cheerfully.

Vader ignored her in favor of watching his children and Kenobi leap from the exit to a position closer to the wall, beyond which lay the Emperor's Throne Room.

"Luke and Leia," Kenobi said seriously, "Ahsoka. Keep in mind that the Emperor is skilled in Force suggestion, and even very strong, trained Force sensitives have been affected. You must guard yourselves."

"We will, Master Kenobi," Leia said seriously, even as Luke nodded.

"As for you, Vader," Kenobi stated as he turned to face his former apprentice, "you must be especially careful not to be affected by Palpatine's words. He is a master at manipulation, and you've been Bonded to him for many years."

"Won't he just try to kill us?" Luke asked curiously.

Kenobi sighed, "You and Leia are both targets of Palpatine. The Skywalkers have such power in the Force. You twins, at least, he will seek to capture and Turn.

Luke paled slightly but Vader put his hand on his son's shoulders, "I will not allow that to happen."

Luke took a deep breath, "I know, Father."

The cyborg gestured toward the slightly cracked wall two meters away and lit his lightsaber.

"Shall we?" he asked sarcastically.

Inside the Throne Room, Emperor Palpatine rose to his feet with help from the captain of the guard. He was an old man and his ankle hurt from the sudden fall when the building shook from exploding slightly, though nothing was broken. A med droid would fix him in minutes – except there were no med droids nearby.

Around him, eighteen Royal guards had drawn close to him, encircling him to keep him safe. Of the other six guards, two were on the floor, apparently unconscious from sections of the roof falling on them, and the other four had staggered to their feet but appeared dazed, confused, and injured. The captain of the guard had his hand to his head, listening to coms, and gazed with fear at his Master.

"Your Highness," he stated with a quaver in his voice, "it appears that the ore freighter hit the palace and the elevator shafts are blocked. It will take some minutes for additional troops to find their way to the Throne Room."

Palpatine took a deep breath and gazed at the far wall where a series of colored lights had appeared, "I believe, Captain, that we have very little time."

It took longer than Vader liked to cut through the wall, which was reinforced with cortosis. But with Kenobi's blue blade, and Ahsoka's two white ones, and Leia's blue, and Luke's green, and his own red, it took exactly 4 minutes 34 seconds.

Which was, he knew, long enough for Palpatine to prepare for battle.

Back in the battered ore freighter, Galen Erso worked his magic on the available 'puters. He was lousy with a blaster and useless in a physical fight between Force users, but he could keep track of coms and incoming craft and run scans on the structure of the Palace and hmmmm ... the electrical systems of the tower were unusual ... Hmmmm ...

He loved being an engineer.

Vader led the charge into the Throne Room, blocking the Force pike of a Royal Guard with his saber, then throwing a large piece of shattered rock at the man's head. The guard went down with a dramatic thunk, and Vader stepped forward to face another guard who swung a Force pike at his left arm. The guard managed a glancing blow, which caused minor damage, but Vader took off the man's head a moment later. He turned now and strode toward the throne where Palpatine stood waiting for him. Two more guards shifted to meet him.

As planned, Luke and Leia shifted to the right side of the throne. Leia, with the ease of long practice, slipped behind her slightly taller brother and guarded his back. Luke had been nervous about his ability to contend with these elite soldiers, but their robed and armored bodies were not particularly flexible and he was small, slight, and limber. It was but the work of a few seconds for him to fall to the ground, roll, twist, and slice each man in half.

On the other side of the Throne Room, Ahsoka and Kenobi were in the midst of their own dance. It had been nearly 20 years since they'd fought together but Kenobi had been Anakin's master and Anakin had been Ahsoka's master and some things were passed down, some muscle movements were deeply engrained.

The casualties mounted.

Emperor Palpatine stood as tall as his bent form would manage, his gaze fixed on the far taller (former?) apprentice moving closer as he destroyed the guards who lived and served and died to keep him safe.

In some distant part of Sheev Palpatine's brain, he knew this situation was dire in the extreme. He had expected Darth Vader to come calling, though the attack via ore freighter was both more cunning, and more destructive, than he had anticipated. He had even imagined that Leia Organa, Vader's daughter, would possibly be present. But Kenobi? Ahsoka Tano? Another, unknown, obviously trained Force user roughly Organa's age? Five Force skilled users against ten, no, nine, no, eight guards. Six now ...

But he had survived for all these years, and he would survive now. He would make a way, if not with brute force, with manipulation.

Vader cut through yet another guard and took a step closer to his former master, his red blade quivering with eagerness to cut through flesh and sinew. The elderly Emperor could feel his apprentice's rage and anger and hatred. In decades past, Palpatine had reveled in how far the former Anakin Skywalker had fallen. At the moment, he merely felt unnerved and yes, even afraid.

Another guard attacked Vader from the side, and the younger Sith turned to block the pike with his own red blade. This was Palpatine's chance; he lifted his arms and Force lightning leaped toward the cyborg. Sidious felt a vicious glee as the Vader staggered under the onslaught of savage electrons, and the guard's Force pike struck the armored man on the left shoulder. For a brief moment, the emperor hoped this would bring Vader down but abruptly, Obi-Wan Kenobi was at Vader's side and struck down the guard, then turned to catch the lightning on his own blade.

Palpatine hissed in rage and focused on the old Jedi, but Tano was here now as well, her own blades reaching out to block the ruthless lightning and Vader was on his feet now, and he was moving closer to his Sith master ...

Sidious dropped his arms and pushed a button on his throne; to his intense relief, a cylindrical force field turned on and stayed on, surrounding his throne and separating him from the five living beings in the room.

His guards were all dead. His throne room was cut off from his troops below. His palace was damaged. His continued survival depended now on manipulation as opposed to raw power, for (he admitted reluctantly) he was, at the moment, completely outmatched.

Darth Vader, Lord of the Sith, gazed angrily at the force field separating himself from Palpatine. He had not known that the Emperor had put such a defensive mechanism in place, but neither was he surprised. Sidious always had plans within plans to protect himself. He carefully touched the force field with his lightsaber and was unsurprised when his lightsaber was stopped completely. High above, in the ceiling, were the projectors for the field, no doubt, but he could see with his augmented vision that the projectors were protected by cortosis blocks.

"Can we find the power sources for the shield?" Luke asked, looking up at the ceiling.

Vader glanced at Kenobi and Ahsoka, "Watch Palpatine."

The old man and the Togruta nodded in sync and stepped forward to gaze at the senior Sith, who stood with erect posture and a sneering expression.

"My troops will be here soon," Palpatine stated confidently. "It was most kind of you to bring your daughter to me, Lord Vader. I anticipated searching the galaxy for her, and yet here she is."

Vader suppressed a flinch at these words. Had he indeed endangered Leia by this attack? He had wanted to leave the twins behind but Padme and the others had insisted the young ones were a vital part of the attack ...

_"Father, ignore him!"_ Luke told him silently through their Force bond. "_He's just trying to rile you up. Focus on the shield protecting him. Maybe Galen Erso can help? I know he has scanning equipment in the_ _ore freighter."_

Vader cycled through three breaths even as he sent a quiet acknowledgement to his son. He hated the thought of Palpatine's poisoned words affecting his daughter, but his primary goal should be, must be, to get that shield down and permanently silence that viperous tongue.

Palpatine noted the initial terror in Vader's soul, followed by a strange and unsettling calm. The bond between them still existed, but it was frozen somehow, infiltrated by hideous Light. Most regrettable.

The Emperor turned his gaze on the four individuals directly outside the protective shield. Kenobi and Tano and Leia Organa and the unknown blond youth. He would start with Kenobi.

"General Kenobi," he said with false courtesy. "It is truly a surprise to see you here fighting alongside the man whom you fought, maimed, and left for dead in the lava flows of Mustafar."

"I believe," the young blond boy stated with cheer, "that it is a case of '_the enemy of my enemy is my friend_'. Obi-Wan and Vader have plenty of time to settle their substantial differences once you are dead."

Palpatine frowned at this. It was logical enough, really, but hardly where he wanted this conversation to go.

Sidious turned his attention on Leia Organa, who was staring at him with determination in her brown eyes. Again, he berated himself. He really should have seen how much the young princess looked like Padme Amidala Naberrie Skywalker. But even he, great as he was, was not omniscient.

"Princess Leia," the Emperor said gently. "I find your alliance with your father even more startling than Kenobi's. He choked your mother nearly to death while you were in the womb, or perhaps you didn't know that?"

Organa narrowed her eyes, "I do know. Lord Vader isn't my favorite person, definitely – his attack on my mother was only one of many atrocious actions. But since most of those actions were at your orders, I'm certainly delighted to help him kill you."

Again, not what he wanted. No one was getting upset, or frustrated, or angered by his words. He reached out with the Force, slyly, gently, seeking to infiltrate the young woman's mind and soul with the Dark Side.

And ran into a durasteel wall. Her shields were incredibly strong.

He forced himself to keep his face calm. He'd need to move quickly as Vader was striding around the room staring at columns in a thoroughly unnerving way. If the cyborg managed to knock out the protective shield, Palpatine was dead. And Vader was remarkably talented with anything mechanical or electrical.

"Princess Leia," the Emperor continued gravely. "I realize you have been raised by the Organas, and thus have no doubt heard false things about me and my reign. I only want what is best for the galaxy. Regrettably, Lord Vader, since his ... experience on Mustafar ... has been unnecessarily vicious and harsh at times. I am elderly and weak; while technically I rule, I am limited in my abilities to control Vader. I am sure with your intelligence and political acumen, you can see that Lord Vader, even if he is your biological father, is not the best person to help an old man in his desire to serve the myriad peoples of the galaxy."

The Emperor saw, out of the corner of his eye, the blond youth actually _roll his eyes_. He would delight in murdering the young man, whomever he was, slowly and unpleasantly.

"So you are suggesting that I become your apprentice?" Leia Organa asked, lifting one elegant eyebrow.

"Apprentice, yes," Palpatine stated encouragingly. "But in time, I will step aside to allow you to rule. Your mother Padme, whom I admire tremendously, is a most brilliant politician and I know from our prior interactions that you are similarly gifted. With our combined Force strength and your political acumen, we can bring order and peace to the galaxy."

Now Organa's eyebrows were both lifted in incredulity.

"But what about the Sith Rule of Two?" she asked in a puzzled tone.

Palpatine hesitated, considering his words carefully, "Your father, Lord Vader, has been ... rather unstable of late. I am sure he would agree, if he were in a better frame of mind, that you would be a far better, more appropriate leader ..."

Leia Organa interrupted him without compunction, "Not Vader! I am not a big fan of his and I agree he shouldn't be helping run the galaxy. But the Sith Rule of Two means one master, you, and one apprentice. What about my twin brother?"

Sheev Palpatine had been feeling slightly hopeful, but these words were like a cascade of icy water into his soul.

He felt his mouth open involuntarily, and the words "twin brother" form.

Twin brother?

"Yes, what about me?" the snarky blond youth commented with a vaguely indignant expression on his face. "Why does he like you better? It's not my fault I'm not rich and pretty."

Organa turned and smirked at the blond boy.

(Twin brother. _Twins._ Padme Skywalker, curse her to Chaos, had given birth to twins!)

"Well, not only am I prettier, I'm sophisticated and far more intellectual," the girl said with her nose tilted into the air.

"Too bad you can't pilot your way out of Beggar's Canyon to save your life," the boy returned with a grin.

"Like I'd want to ..."

"Twin brother!" Palpatine repeated, this time aloud. He turned to gaze straight at the young man, finally registering the blue eyes, the dark blond hair, so much like those of the young Anakin.

"Luke Skywalker, your Highness" the young man said with a mocking bow, "very much _not _at your service. And you can skip trying to use Force suggestion on either of us. I'm not saying you wouldn't have a chance if we were alone, but we're not, and Ahsoka taught us well, and we have our twin bond going, so yeah. It's hopeless."

Now Sidious was truly afraid, and being afraid made him angry, and being angry meant ...

A random piece of broken roof suddenly flew towards Luke, who turned and cut it in half with his lightsaber. Other pieces of masonry began flying towards both the twins, but Obi-Wan and Ahsoka made quick work of them either with their lightsabers or the Force.

"Very well," Vader suddenly said aloud. He turned to face his son with a mixture of triumph and awe. Galen Erso had found the control panel for the force field protecting Palpatine, and had also given insight on how to disable it. Palpatine would soon be dead.

He was awestruck, and so very proud, of his twins. He had struggled mightily through the conversation between his hideous master and his twins, and they had handled the old man with aplomb and indeed, humor.

Palpatine hated the very idea of someone laughing at him.

"Luke, help me," he ordered. Luke strode over even as Vader carefully cut into a concealed panel in the wall.

"_Follow my lead_," he continued, this time silently through the Force.

Luke nodded and together they focused on the exposed wiring and capacitors ...

"Princess Leia!" Palpatine cried out, his eyes wide. "You are of Alderaan, a peaceful planet, a planet which believes in justice for all! Surely you will not allow your Sith Lord sire to murder me? You can't trust him to allow you to rule, you know ..."

"I think," Leia Organa interrupted firmly, "that capturing you and putting you on trial would be the ideal circumstance. But the situation is not ideal. We can't knock you out, and take you prisoner, and waft you off somewhere, and expect to keep you imprisoned. Life is rarely ideal, as Luke and I are entirely too aware of since you chose to manipulate our father and nearly murder our mother through their shared Force bond, thus nearly destroying our family. In any case, you've been convicted of war crimes by the Alliance High Command, and therefore we are within our rights to take your life."

The force field abruptly flickered out, leaving Emperor Palpatine exposed.

Darth Vader and Luke strode toward the throne even as the other Force users fanned out around Sidious and began their own advance.

Palpatine stared at Vader now, with genuine terror on his face, "I am your master! You pledged your allegiance to me, Vader! You cannot ..."

The Dark Lord of the Sith lifted his lightsaber and drove it through his master's torso, just as Luke chopped at Palpatine's knees, and Leia at his left arm, and Ahsoka at his right arm, and Obi-Wan Kenobi at his head.

Palpatine died. And fell to the ground, in pieces.

It was finished.

/-

_Author Note: I thought in Revenge of the Sith that it was, though necessary for the plot, rather unreasonable that Palpatine would promptly kill two of the four Jedi who came to arrest him. I think that with clear heads and minds, four against one, or in this case, five against one, would easily prevail. Palpatine got away with words and manipulation quite often. This time, he didn't, partly because he didn't have much time to work on Leia (or Luke.)_


	14. Chapter 14

**A Desperate Plea**

_Hanger Bay #3_

_The Orismus (Bulk Freighter)_

_In hyperspace en route to Tatooine_

_4 hours later_

Padme Naberrie Amidala Skywalker Dalam, her face tight with worry, raced up the ramp of the small Corellian freighter sitting on the hanger floor. She had been pacing, and clenching her teeth, and even crying off and on for the last few hours. It had seemed, initially, the right thing to send her husband and twins off to destroy Palpatine but a desperate terror had engulfed her soon after they left.

What if … what if they failed? What if Palpatine captured the twins? What if her beloved Anakin died or worse, was swept back into the Darkness? She knew Ani was still unstable.

But now the _Starlight_ had landed, and within seconds she would know if her family was safe and unharmed.

At the top of the ramp, she strode forward a few meters and heard her husband speaking loudly, "You destroyed me! You left me to die in agony! You betrayed me! You …"

She turned the corner and then stopped, her eyes wide, her pupils dilated, her gaze intently searching.

Obi-Wan Kenobi, looking even older than usual, was seated on a chair against one wall. Luke and Leia stood on either side of him, their faces toward their Sith Lord father, who stood two meters from the small group, his fists clenched, his posture menacing in the extreme.

The twins looked Ok, but why was Anakin so upset?

"Anakin!" she exclaimed, making her feet move forward. "What's wrong?"

The cyborg turned to her in apparent surprise, "Padme!"

"Anakin!" she repeated. "Are you all right? What happened? Why are you furious with Obi-Wan?"

Vader, when he responded, sounded positively bewildered, "He left me to die on Mustafar, Padme! He took my three limbs, he abandoned me on the lava flows …"

She smacked him on one cyborg arm, causing him to stop in astonishment.

"Anakin Skywalker!" she yelled. "I have been pacing the floors, chewing on my nails, and nearly losing my mind these last hours waiting for you and you're dragging up something from nearly twenty years ago?! Now? What about the mission, what happened?! Where is Palpatine?"

"He is dead," her husband replied calmly and smugly.

"And … and are you all right? Luke, Leia, are you all right? How about Ahsoka, and Galen Erso? Were there any …" she trailed off in fear but Leia spoke quickly.

"No injuries, Mother. The pods took out the palace shields, we landed, infiltrated the Throne Room, beat up the guards, exchanged a few snarky words with Palpatine, then killed him when Lord Vader got an interior shield down. We left him in like 6 or 7 pieces."

Padme stared at her daughter, then her son, then her husband, then threw herself into the arms of said husband.

"Oh Ani, oh Ani," she gasped, and began sobbing in relief.

He, in turn, was bewildered and indeed, terribly awkward. He put out his arms and gently patted her on the back with his right hand even as he encircled her small waist with his left, "It's Ok, Padme. We're safe. Everything is all right."

"I … I," she gasped. "I was so afraid. I was so sure I'd sent you all to your deaths. Oh Anakin. I can't … I can't lose you. I can't lose the twins_."_

_ "She's_ _still recovering from being captured and brutalized_," Luke sent through his Force bond, and Leia chimed in sadly, "_Luke is right. She's been strong on the outside but she went through chaos …"_

Vader looked at his precious wife, weeping in his arms, then at Kenobi, who now was in his feet. The old man's face was sorrowful and sympathetic.

The Dark Lord cycled through four breaths, then swept Padme off her feet and into his arms, "Luke, would you help me get your mother settled? Leia, perhaps it would be wise to write a report on our mission for the Organas?"

The princess of Alderaan nodded and glanced nervously at Kenobi.

"We will talk more in the future, Obi-Wan," Vader stated, "but for now, I must tend to my wife."

"As you wish," Obi-Wan said. He waited for his former apprentice to take two steps towards the door before speaking again.

"I … apologize for what happened on Mustafar, Vader. I should not have stowed away on Padme's ship and given you the false idea that your wife had betrayed you. Perhaps if … perhaps she could have brought you back from the brink if I had not appeared."

The Dark Lord stood still for a long moment, his back to the aged Jedi, and then turned around. Padme, nestled in his arms, had her eyes closed now.

"I would have continued along the Dark Path," Vader said heavily, "for I believed only Palpatine could save Padme from death in childbirth. I would not have … not have attacked her, I think, but I could not be swayed from Sidious then. I trusted him, foolishly."

Kenobi glanced at Padme, and nodded, "We will talk more later … Anakin."

"Very well."

/-

_Guest House_

_Lars Homestead_

_Tatooine_

_4 hours later_

"Breha?" Beru Lars asked anxiously. Her daughter Shmi had run ahead of her and was gazing raptly at the plant on the living room table. It had actually flowered, an amazing accomplishment for a plant on Tatooine. Her son Cadon had his arms wrapped around his mother's left leg, which meant Beru's progress was rather halting.

Breha Organa had tears in her eyes, but a broad smile on her face, "We just got a coded transmission from Leia. The operation was a success! Palpatine is dead!"

"And the twins?" Beru asked anxiously.

"Are fine," and now Breha was crying openly, "they are fine. No casualties, no injuries. It was a complete success."

Beru huffed out a sob of relief, then sat down carefully on a nearby chair and drew Cadon into her lap, "I'm so glad, Breha. So glad."

The queen nodded with a rather watery smile and gestured towards a nearby room, "Bail is using the secure coms to discuss ongoing plans with the Rebel cells throughout the galaxy. With Palpatine dead, and Vader on our side, this whole crumbling, reeking, diseased Empire will fall."

Owen Lars spoke from the entrance to the connecting tunnel between the main house and the guest quarters, "I am most relieved that the mission went well, Breha, but I doubt that the Empire's fall will make any difference here on Tatooine."

Breha straightened now, her brown eyes flashing, "It will make a difference, Owen. I pledge it with all that I am. Yes, I was guilty of thinking of Alderaan, and the Core, and neglecting the realities of planets like Tatooine, where the Hutts rule and many are enslaved and oppressed. If a new Republic is to rise and thrive, we must focus not just on the Core and Mid-Rim, but the Outer Rim as well."

"With all due respect, your Highness," Owen said wearily, "I will believe it when I see it."

She stepped forward and gazed directly into the moisture farmer's timeworn face, "I understand your concerns, but for Luke, and Anakin, and your stepmother, Shmi, who lived most of her life in slavery, we will bring change to Tatooine."

/-

_Anakin and Padme's quarters_

_Bulk Freighter _Orismus

_Hyperspace (en route to Tatooine)_

_8 hours later_

"Kamino?" Luke asked in a bewildered tone.

"Kamino, yes," Obi-Wan Kenobi stated softly, his eyes on Anakin.

"What's on Kamino?" Leia asked practically.

"The creators of the Clone Army," he responded gravely.

"The clones!" Ahsoka demanded incredulously. "Why would you want to deal with Kaminoans?! You know what happened with the clones!"

"What did the clones do?" Leia asked.

"As you know, they were forced to do it, Ahsoka," Vader said gravely, then turned to his children. "The clones were implanted with inhibitor chips to, supposedly, make them more obedient and less prone to independence and aggression. But in actuality, Darth Sidious had arranged that the chips contained a Jedi kill code, Order 66. When the Republic fell, and the Empire rose, Palpatine ordered the clones to kill the Jedi, which they did in large numbers. I was … responsible for the death of many Jedi during my tenure as Sith Lord, but far more died at the hands of the clones on that fateful day."

Leia looked horrified and Luke was actually pale, "The clones … they were like … like slaves? They had to obey?"

"Yes," Obi-Wan said gently. "Yes."

"And you didn't have any problem with this!?" the youth demanded in an outraged tone. "Quite aside from the Jedi killing order, how could you work with sentient beings with chips in their brains who were forced to obey? That is the very worst kind of slavery!"

Tano frowned and Kenobi looked sad, "We were … we were led astray, Luke. I think most of us didn't understand the process very well. I knew more than most, but even I … well, we knew the clones. We fought by their sides. They were all from one human template, but they were individuals with different personalities. They didn't seem like slaves. They seemed like soldiers, and we were fighting for the survival of, we thought, the freedom of the galaxy. Of course, Palpatine was behind it all …"

He trailed away, his eyes filled with sadness as he remembered that horrific day when so many comrades had died.

"In any case," he said more briskly, "I have no intention of cloning a person. The point I'm making is that the Kaminoans have the ability to clone organs. I'm hoping … I believe that they can help Anakin."

There was a startled pause before the great mask began shaking negatively.

"Nothing can be done for me, Kenobi," Vader said coldly. "I was burned over 100% of my body. I caught on fire …"

"Who told you that nothing could be done?" Padme demanded angrily.

There was a pause before her husband spoke, "Palpatine."

"Palpatine is … _was_, an unprincipled, vicious, destructive, rancorous liar!" she snarled with rage flashing in her eyes. "You can't believe a word he said to you. I agree with Kenobi. I've had a few dealings with the sentients of Kamino through Dalam Enterprises. We'll at least consult with them. Any improvement would be welcome, would it not?"

Vader sighed, "I don't think …"

"It doesn't matter what you think," Padme replied fiercely. "We are doing this. Just let us chat with the Organas about where to go from here and then we'll take off."

"I would like to come with you, Mother," Luke said gravely. "I am healthy and perhaps, I don't know, I could possibly donate genetic material …?"

"Possibly," his mother said with appreciative tears in her eyes. "Yes, please come, Luke."

"I need to go with the Organas so we can work on the transition in government," Leia insisted. "The Senate will likely vote on a successor to Palpatine and perhaps we can arrange for someone reasonable …"

/-

_Kamino_

_4 months later_

Anakin Skywalker stared out at the rain lashing against his hospital room window.

"Pretty dreary, isn't it?" Luke asked with a grin, walking into the room.

"I will never tire of seeing with my own eyes, my son," Anakin said with a smile, reaching out to clasp his son's hand with his own cyborg one. His limbs had been replaced by ones that were lighter and healthier, and his life support suit had been removed. His eyes had been miraculously healed through the Kaminoans' skill and Luke's genetic information. Anakin still needed breathing support and had to cope with severe eating restrictions to avoid tempestuous stomach upset. His kidneys were working at 40% (instead of 3%) but he still needed blood filtering daily. His skin, while much improved, was still scarred…but he was so far improved beyond the bounds of his own imagination. There were still more procedures in his future, but what he had so far was a miracle.

"Actually," Luke said rather bashfully, "even though I left Tatooine a decade ago, I still just … love rain. It's amazing to see water falling from the sky."

"Indeed, it is," Anakin agreed.

He relished, too, being able to speak without a vocoder. His voice was still raspy and broke at odd moments, but he much preferred it to the deep, intimidating voice of the last decades.

"Oh," Luke added brightly, "Mom asked me tell you that she's got a counseling session with R2D2 right now, then will bring dinner and a fun holo she wants to watch with you tonight, the _Merry Princess Robbers of Larpwood_. She said Ahsoka told her it was so stupid it's hilarious."

Anakin grinned widely, relishing that this action only hurt a little bit now.

He knew now that Palpatine had chosen deliberately to encase him in life support far too soon, to deny him basic medical care which would have enabled significant healing in the days and weeks and months after Mustafar.

The old rage and hatred flared but he breathed deeply from the oxygen cannula in his nose and forced himself to relax.

Sidious was dead. Long live … live Padme. And Luke. And Leia. And Ahsoka and even Obi-Wan Kenobi. He cared little about the fate of the galaxy at this moment, except that he wanted to make it safer for his children and hypothetical grandchildren.

"I look forward to seeing it with your mother," he said in an amused tone. "Would you like to join us?"

"Ah, no," Luke said carefully. "I got the vibe that Mom wants a date with just you."

"Well, that sounds … quite pleasant," Anakin said with anticipation.

/-

_Government Holonet Network_

_Coruscant (formerly Imperial Center)_

_2 months later_

"Relinka Spetzv here, reporting to you live from the Senate Chambers on Coruscant. After months of controversy and speculation and stunning revelations, resulting in the imprisonment of some of the former Emperor's highest ranking officials, the Senatorial vote has been taken. Senator Mon Mothma of Chandrila has been elected as Chancellor of the government for a one year period. The senator has been a strong proponent of democracy and insists she will step down at the one year mark. Bail Organa of Alderaan has reassumed his position as Senator of Alderaan, replacing his daughter Leia Organa, who is working with Dalam Enterprises on political and humanitarian projects in the Outer Rim. The elder Organa will be working with an appointed committee of 15 Senators to arrange for a galactic wide election in a year. Mon Mothma, in her acceptance speech, spoke specifically of her desire to bring freedom to sentients enslaved or oppressed by rogue Imperial warlords and Hutts …"

_/-_

_Dalam Enterprises Main Office_

_Xifor (Capital of Siskeen)_

_Siskeen_

_2 weeks later_

"So how is Mother doing?" Leia asked gravely. The holoscreen showed her brother sitting in a bland room with a rain spattered window behind him. Poor Luke – Kamino seemed to have a very rainy climate and he was stuck inside almost all the time.

"She's doing really well," Luke replied enthusiastically. "It's funny that R2D2 has turned out to be such a great counselor droid for her, but he has. Of course, part of it is additional programming but some of it is just … R2. He's a great droid."

"Indeed he is," Leia said warmly. "And, uh, Anakin? How is he?"

Luke gestured and something floated into view. Bantha jerky, perhaps? He took a bite and nodded to his sister across the parsecs of space, "Again, he's doing well. Father still has more medical procedures and indeed I think the Kaminoans kind of think of him as, I don't know, their pet research project now. But you won't believe how much he's changed, Leia. He doesn't look like Vader at all anymore and … he really isn't Vader anymore. He still gets flashes of … darkness I guess, but he's a lot calmer."

"So he hasn't skewered Obi-Wan Kenobi?" Leia asked with a mixture of concern and sarcasm.

Luke took another bite and chewed fiercely, then swallowed.

"They are doing a lot better," he said confidently. "I mean, in the early weeks we never let them be alone in a room together for fear a fight would break out but … I really think Kenobi has learned something from the last decades. Father has been through some really painful procedures and when Mom and I can't be with him post – operatively, Obi-Wan is. He just sits with him, you know? He's there for him. They still quarrel sometimes but it isn't vicious anymore. Yeah, they are doing … well."

"I am so glad," Leia said genuinely, "and we'll see each other in a week! I can't wait to see you and Mother and yes, even Anakin. I've been working with Ahsoka on lightsaber sparring and I'm going to kick your butt!"

"We'll see about that," her twin returned, his expression skeptical. "Father and I have been training a lot too, thank you very much."

"We'll just see, won't we?" she replied with a grin. A beep distracted her and she looked to one side, then glanced back to the holoscreen, "Luke, I need to go. I'll see you in seven days?"

"Seven days, yes!" Luke said.

The screen went black and Leia gestured toward her office door, which opened smoothly.

The man who strode in was tall, dark haired, and cocky. His rugged good looks were only slightly diminished by an eye which was creatively bruised gray, blue, green, and even slightly yellow at the edges.

"Captain Solo," Leia said in a frosty tone, "how nice of you to finally come by."

"My apologies for making you wait so long," Solo replied snarkily even as he pulled the girl behind him to his side. She was slight, dark haired, dressed in a dreary, gray jumpsuit, and her wrists were manacled in front of her.

Leia raised her eyebrows with incredulous outrage.

"What in all the galaxies are you doing, Solo?" she snapped, gesturing with her hand toward the woman. The manacles fell to the floor, clanking. "You were supposed to rescue her, not imprison her!"

Solo took a wary step away from the woman, even as he pointed at his right eye, "Ya see this shiner, Princess? This sweet young lady socked me hard in the eye and then tried to break my leg. Don't let that innocent look fool ya. She's dangerous!"

"I think I'll survive," Leia replied irritably, though she did keep her eyes on her female … guest.

"Um, my credits?" Solo demanded. "I need to pay off Jabba."

"I will send them to you within the hour," the princess replied haughtily. "Dalam Enterprises, at least, always pays its debts, unlike some smugglers I know."

"Even I get boarded sometimes, Princess," Solo growled. "You think I had a choice when I dumped that spice?"

"Could we possibly finish this conversation later?" Leia asked with false sweetness.

"Sure, Leia," Han replied with a grin. "Can I take you out to dinner?"

The gray clad girl stared at the regal woman in front of her, then lifted a surprised eyebrow when Leia Organa suddenly blushed and nodded.

"I'd love to, Han. Does 1900 work?"

He bobbed his head, turned to the girl and waved good-bye, and strode out.

"Jyn Erso," Leia said gently, "I'm so glad you are finally here. We've been looking for you for months. I'm afraid with the galaxy in so much upheaval since Palpatine's death, it took us longer than we anticipated to track you down."

"What do you want from me?" Jyn asked coldly. Everyone always wanted something from her.

The princess smiled gently and glanced toward a second door, which opened as if on command.

Jyn's cold expression slipped into astonishment as the man stepped into the room, his own expression full of shocked, incredulous, delighted wonder.

"D … Dad?" she sputtered out.

A moment later Galen Erso raced forward, picked up his daughter and swung her around, and then pulled her firmly into his arms.

"Stardust," he murmured into her tangled hair. "My precious Stardust."

/-

_The End … or is it? I am prone to random epilogues, but this is all I've got for now._


End file.
